The San Francisco 49ers provided a moment of relief for fans on Wednesday when they extended star defensive end Nick Bosa to a massive five-year, $170 million deal that ultimately ended his holdout from the team, bringing him back in time for Week 1.
Bosa, who hadn't been in the building all offseason in search of a contract extension that would place him amongst the league's highest-paid defenders, landed in San Francisco late Wednesday night, and is reportedly at practice for Thursday, although the 49ers are easing him in.
Still, that didn't alleviate any of the joy from his fellow teammates when hearing about the news that Bosa's deal was done.
Speaking on Wednesday following the news, left tackle Trent Williams shared that there wasn't a doubt that the 49ers would get the deal done, having gone through the same process himself, but did start to worry whether it would occur in time for the defensive end to play in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"No, I never once questioned whether it would get done," Williams said. "I ain't going to lie, being that we got here today with no news, started to get worried about if it would be done enough in enough time for him to play this weekend. But obviously we got that taken care of. So I'm super excited."
Williams was one of the few in the locker room when hearing the news, alongside linebacker Fred Warner, and it was a good moment for the building when Bosa's deal was announced.
"I was [in the locker room]," Williams said when asked about hearing the news. "Well, it was only three or four people in here at the time, but yeah, we were all pretty animated and excited to see our boy get paid like he should. Yeah. I'll be lying to say it wasn't [worrisome] because he's such a huge contributor to what we do as a defense and how we play."
In the NFL, a common notion when a player isn't available is the "next-man-up" mentality. However, Williams proclaimed how it's hard to apply that to such a prominent talent like Bosa, furthering the importance of having him back for the start of the season.
"So, it's not like anybody else [was the] defensive player of the year. You miss people like that. I know it's the next-man-up league, but a lot of that goes out the window when you're talking about a player like that," Williams said.
While Williams obviously isn't privy to much of the defensive gameplanning, there's clearly a difference between applying Bosa into the gameplan and working without him. Luckily, that worry is no longer an issue for the 49ers for Week 1.
"Game plan-wise, I don't know because I don't do the game plans for defense. I would think that as a coach, you prepare for the worst and expect the best," Williams said. "So, yeah, I'm pretty sure that started out during the week, but luckily they don't got to worry about that anymore in training camp."
The San Francisco 49ers are getting ready to play for Week 1, and it appears they'll have the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year alongside them to start the season, as Bosa is ready to wreak havoc following the announcement of his new, massive deal.
