Standout defensive end and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa is expected to be away from the San Francisco 49ers to start training camp as he continues to negotiate with the team on a contract extension.
Bosa (18.5 sacks, 48 quarterback hits in 2022) is in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract with the 49ers, who are expected to eventually give him an extension that makes him one of the highest-paid defensive players in the NFL. But that extension has yet to be completed, and with the rest of the team reporting to training camp today, it appears Bosa will be away from the 49ers for the foreseeable future.
"Everybody's reporting today," 49ers general manager John Lynch told reporters Tuesday. "12:30 (p.m. PT) is our first kind of event as a team. That will be our conditioning test -- our tempo run as we call it. I've seen various players -- have not seen Nick. I would expect he's not here to start off."
Fortunately it seems the 49ers have been making progress in their negotiations with Bosa and his agent, Brian Ayrault. Lynch says Bosa's status as one of the top players in the NFL is making the negotiations more of a challenge than they normally would be.
"We're working. We're having really good communication with Brian Ayrault," Lynch said. "He's got good, competent and people we have an immense amount of respect for working for him. And we're working diligently to try to come to an agreement. I think the challenges -- you're talking about a real special player. You're talking about one of the better players in the league. You could argue that could simplify things but I think at times it's just finding that sweet spot. We're committed to working towards that."
Both Bosa and the 49ers have long expressed interest in coming to a deal. So even though nothing is finalized as of Tuesday, the expectation is that Bosa and the 49ers will come to an agreement sooner or later.
"We want all our players to be here," Lynch said. "We've got a pretty good track record of having our guys here and done with contracts. Like I said, this one may be perhaps a little more complex. No timelines there, but I can tell you that we're working hard. We have good communication, and we've got to keep doing that. The interest is mutual."
The 49ers hold their first practice of training camp on Wednesday. In the meantime, Bosa, who joined the 49ers in 2019 after being selected second overall in the NFL Draft, is expected to remain away from the team and will most likely not be a "hold-in" player who reports to the team but doesn't practice.
"He's not getting fined $50,000 a day (because he's in the fifth-year option portion of his rookie contract)," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "So he's not in that same situation."
The 49ers will also remain quiet on where things stand with the negotiations. When there's news to report on the issue, the 49ers will make an announcement. But it doesn't sound like they'll say anything specific before then.
"We're going to keep things private," Lynch said. "I always appreciated that as a player. I feel like there's some sanctity to those things. You don't want everything being aired out. And so we've agreed with Brian and Nick to keep our dealings private. So I think that's the extent of what I'll say, and when there's updates, we'll give them to you."