The 3-0 San Francisco 49ers suffered a major blow in Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Star edge rusher Nick Bosa is believed to have suffered a season-ending torn ACL on Sunday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per sources informed of the situation. Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan later confirmed Bosa tore the ACL in his right knee and will require surgery that will end his 2025 campaign.
Bosa, who had a sack in each of the first two weeks of the season, played just 14 snaps on Sunday before walking off with the knee injury. After being attended to on the sideline, the edge rusher walked to the locker room, giving a thumbs-down signal that foreshadowed the negative diagnosis.
After the game on Sunday, Shanahan told reporters he'd hoped Bosa's ACL was intact, but further imaging revealed the brutal reality.
"I talked to Nick last night," Shanahan said Monday, via team transcript. "You know, it wasn't confirmed until this morning. I haven't been able to see him yet today, but talked to him last night, he had a pretty good idea of what we were going to find out today. But obviously he is bummed out and down, but Nick can handle anything and he is going to handle it like he always does, which will be great. But obviously he was bummed out from it not being able to finish out this year, and especially how good of a year he was having so far."
It's the second time in his NFL career that Bosa has suffered a torn ACL (2020). He also suffered a partially torn ACL as a high school senior (2015).
What now for 49ers on defense?
No one replaces a former Defensive Player of the Year. Bosa has generated 64.5 career sacks, including a league-leading 18.5 in 2022. The star edge rusher has earned four consecutive Pro Bowls. The only time in his career that he wasn't named to the All-Star team was the last time he suffered an ACL tear in 2020.
In 2020, with Bosa among the Niners sidelined, San Francisco went 6-10 and missed the playoffs. Last year, when the edge rusher played just 14 games, they similarly went 6-11. In the four seasons in which he's played at least 16 games, the Niners have gone to at least the NFC Championship Game.
Robert Saleh's unit imported Bryce Huff in the offseason, after he played under the DC in New York. Through three weeks, Huff leads the 49ers with 11 QB pressures, and his two sacks were tied with Bosa for the team lead. The question is whether Huff can continue to produce with an increased workload.
First-round rookie defensive lineman Mykel Williams has flashed early this season, generating nine QB pressures and one QB hit. The Niners will need the first-year player to play a larger role sans Bosa.
More pressure is on Saleh to create disruption for quarterbacks now that he no longer has a game-changing rusher like Bosa to lean on.
Bosa is the latest Niners player to miss time due to injury. Quarterback Brock Purdy (toe/shoulder) has missed the past two games. Wide receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder, ankle) has been in and out of the lineup. Brandon Aiyuk remains on the physically unable to perform list after last year's knee injury. Safety Malik Mustapha (knee) is also on PUP. Ten Niners are already on IR, including George Kittle (hamstring), Patrick Taylor (shoulder), Ben Bartch (ankle) and Spencer Burford (knee).
