SANTA CLARA — The 49ers stand atop the NFC West, but their ability to remain there got a lot more difficult with the news that edge rusher Nick Bosa was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
“You don’t just replace a guy like Nick,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday in conference call with local reporters. “Everyone’s got to keep getting better at everything, the same thing I’d be preaching if we did have Nick. When you lose your better players, things get harder.
“I expect all our players to get better as it goes, and that’s stressed that much more when you lose a great one like Nick.”
lt’s the second time Bosa has had nearly an entire season wiped out by an ACL injury. A more extensive tear in Week 2 in 2020 cost Bosa the rest of the season, a year in which the 49ers went 6-10 and also included injuries to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Bosa led 49ers defensive linemen in snaps played through the first two games against Seattle and New Orleans, playing 105 of 123 snaps (88.5 percent).
It’s a huge loss both in terms of snaps and production, although Bosa’s sack numbers have fallen from 18 1/2 in 2022 to 10 1/2 in 2023 and nine last season while missing three games due to injury.
Rookie defensive tackle C.J. West came out of the game with a fractured thumb that will need surgery, but Shanahan sounded as if his absence could be minimal.
“He’ll have a chance at the end of the week with a cast, and if not, he should be good the following week,” Shanahan said.
Listed as day to day were quarterback Mac Jones (knee), defensive end Mykel Williams (wrist) and cornerback Renardo Green (neck).
Quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) and wide receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder, knee) will be evaluated Wednesday as to their readiness to face Jacksonville Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
Bosa normally works out on his own in the offseason, but at the behest of Shanahan was a willing participant in the offseason program as the 49ers looked to rebound from a 6-11 record.
The 49ers could elect to go the blockbuster route, as they did in 2022 with an in-season trade for Christian McCaffrey, who came at a cost of second, third and fourth round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round pick in 2024.
“We’ll look at trades like we always do, but there’s got to be trade options that make sense for you and another team and you can’t do that stuff just to do it,” Shanahan said.
Just three games into the season, NFL teams are unlikely to sell off a prominent player.
The obvious big name is Cincinnati edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, who held out in the offseason until he reached agreement on a one-year extension (it was written as a two-year extension but with a void year in 2026) that paid him $29 million, with $25 million in base salary.
The 49ers at present have more than $25 million in salary cap space according to overethecap.com.
Hendrickson has two sacks for Cincinnati, which is 2-1 but coming off a 48-10 drubbing against Minnesota. Their best player, quarterback Joe Burrow, is out for three months with turf toe surgery. Hendrickson, 31, had 17 1/2 sacks in 2024 and 2023, accounting for 35 of his 79 career sacks compiled with New Orleans (2017-20) and the Bengals (2021 to present).
A four-time Pro Bowler, Hendrickson was a first-team Associated Press All-Pro last season and last missed a game in 2022.
The 49ers could also be on the lookout for another Bryce Huff, who underperformed in an ill-fitting scheme in Philadelphia and was acquired for a mid-round draft pick with the Eagles paying $9.05 million of his salary with San Francisco assuming the remaining $7.95 million.
If the 49ers are looking for an established veteran hoping for one last shot at a ring, New Orleans end Cameron Jordan has been durable for 15 seasons and has 123 career sacks. Jordan agreed in March to a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $6.05 million. Other potential targets could include the Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux, a 6-foot-5, 258-pound outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme who had 11 1/2 sacks in 2023., 5 1/2 last season in 12 games and has 1 1/2 so far in three games. Both the Saints and Giants are 0-3.
Defensive end Mykel Williams (98) celebrates a fourth-down stop Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium. Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group
Short of that, the 49ers will look to make up the difference as best as possible with what is already in the building, with rookie first-round pick (No. 11 overall) Williams taking on even more importance.
“We need guys to step it up to play along with Nick, and now that he’s out, we need it that much more,” Shanahan said. “I thought Mykel had a real good game yesterday. Sam (Okuayinonu)., our edge players, have all been contributing and hopefully they get better throughout the year
Williams, 21, has played both on the edge and moved inside on pass rush downs. While Bosa has an array of pass rush moves, Williams at this point is pure power and an edge setter and only beginning to refine his abilities as an edge rusher.
After injuring his wrist, Williams returned and finished the game.
“I feel like it was the whole group, like the whole D-line room said we’ve got to step it up because Bosa is a great player for us and he holds a heavy load,” Williams said. “So when we lose him, everybody has got to raise their game.”
Edge possibilities currently on the roster are Yetur Gross-Matos, who has been slowed by a knee injury in practice and like Williams also plays inside, and Okuayinonu. Currently on the practice squad are Trevis Gipson and Robert Beal Jr. Gipson has played for Chicago, Tennessee and Seattle with his best season coming in 2021 with seven sacks.
Beal, a fifth-round draft pick out of Georgia in 2023, has played sparingly with one sack in 18 games. He was waived on Sept. 13 but signed to the practice squad after he was not claimed by another team.
SNAP JUDGEMENTS
A look at who played and how much in Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals:
66–Safeties Marques Sigle and Jason Pinnock and linebackers Fred Warner and Dee Winters played every defensive snap.
65–Left guard Connor Colby came in questionable with a groin strain but didn’t miss a snap. Also playing every snap were the rest of the offensive line — left tackle Trent Williams, center Jake Brendel, right guard Dominick Puni and right tackle Colton McKivitz. Jones also took every snap at quarterback.
Related Articles
Kurtenbach: Nick Bosa is out for the season and it’s hard to see how the 49ers recover
Report: Nick Bosa tore ACL in 49ers’ home-opening win over Arizona
Inman: 10 things that caught my eye in unbeaten 49ers’ walk-off win over Cardinals
49ers report card: Clutch finish leads to 3-0, first-place mark
Photos: San Francisco 49ers claim first place in NFC West with 16-15 win over Arizona Cardinals
63–Ricky Pearsall Jr. was off the field for just two snaps and caught eight passes for 117 yards.
59–Christian McCaffrey had 17 runs from scrimmage and was targeted 15 times (catching 10 passes). He touched the ball on 54.2 percent of the 49ers offensive snaps.
47–In his second game since returning to the 49ers, Kendrick Bourne had the second-most snaps at his position to Pearsall.
45–Considered a fringe roster player at the final cutdown, Jake Tonges got plenty of work with Kittle being out in addition to 15 snaps on special teams.
34–Wide receiver Skyy Moore, after having five offensive snaps combined in the first two games, had his biggest workload and contributed a 10-yard reception on the 49ers’ winning touchdown drive.
25–Ji’Ayir Brown saw his workload in the “big nickel” increase from seven snaps last week.
14-The last snaps of Bosa’s season.
