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It’s been a less-than-stellar offseason for the San Francisco 49ers. And, the Nick Bosa holdout is one issue that is still going on that needs to be resolved if their Super Bowl hopes are to be fulfilled.
There’s no doubt that Nick Bosa is one of the best players in the league at any position. The fifth-year man from Ohio State has been absolutely dominant since day one.
In 51 career games, the edge rusher has 43 sacks, 56 tackles for loss, and 106 quarterback hits. In the last two seasons, he has 35 sacks, with an awfully impressive 18.5 in 2022.
His 2022 season was enough to earn Nick Bosa the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award over Micah Parsons, as he helped the 49ers advance all the way to the NFC Championship Game, where an injury debacle at quarterback prevented them from being competitive in that game.
But, he and the team have been at an impasse over a contract extension as Nick Bosa enters the final year of his rookie deal. In the meantime, Bosa is holding out, unwilling to take the field for San Francisco. And, it seems like the two sides are not close with the regular season less than a week away. Here’s NBC Sports Bay Area with more.
“There is no deal yet for Nick Bosa,” Rapoport reported on the “NFL Total Access” show. “… Until there is a significant breakthrough, I do not expect Nick Bosa on the field for the San Francisco 49ers.”
Bosa, entering the final year of his rookie contract, did not report to training camp or the preseason in search of a long-term deal. The contract is expected to be the most lucrative salary for a pass rusher in NFL history, a crown currently worn by Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt at $28 million per year.
Rapoport reported the 49ers already have offered Bosa more than Watt’s $28 million yearly salary. But that is not the number Bosa and his team are focused on.
“It really isn’t a question of is it going to be the NFL’s highest-paid pass rusher,” Rapoport said. “It sounds to me like they’re already there, already past T.J. Watt. … This is about how close to Aaron Donald’s $31 million and change does he get — or does he get over that?”
Donald, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, reworked his contract last summer and now earns an average of $31.7 million per year (h/t Spotrac). He’s the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league.
Bosa could be looking to reset the market for defensive players with this next deal.
With him out of the lineup, the 49ers take a pretty big hit defensively. This is a deal they need to get done.