Leaner, lighter, healthier and humbled, Nick Bosa rolled into 49ers training camp this summer with a determined approach and straightforward response to the devastating injury that put a slam-into-the-wall halt last season to his fast-track progress as a rising superstar.
“There’s really no other option but to come back better,” Bosa said.
Not better, as in get well. Better, as in superior to the Nick Bosa of 2019 that took the NFL by storm and played a major role in taking the 49ers all the way to the Super Bowl.
That Bosa steadily grew into one of the NFL’s brightest young stars before everybody’s eyes, developing into an impact player that was so dominant against Kansas City in Super Bowl LIV that Bosa would have been in the discussion for game MVP had San Francisco held on to a 10point lead with fewer than seven minutes to play.
Bosa settled for NFL Rookie of the Year honors — regardless of position — becoming the first San Francisco player ever to earn that honor. He also won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with one of the best debut seasons ever by a San Francisco rookie and one of the greatest performances of the 21st century by an NFL rookie defender.
We repeat all the hype of Bosa’s first season here because that’s the lasting image most have of the robust defensive end. He didn’t get a chance to build on it when his much-anticipated encore sophomore season became a bad memory by Week 2 and one of the worst things to happen to the 49ers during a 2020 season when a whole heck of a lot went wrong for the team.
This story is from the August 31, 2021 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the August 31, 2021 edition of Niner Report.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
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Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
