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Nick Bosa has become known to fans of the San Francisco 49ers for showing a soft-spoken side.
Make no mistake about it, though. There are times when the fourth-year edge rusher and 2021 All-Pro throws out that trait and shows a blunt side. Particularly when it comes to player safety.
And the 49ers’ leader in sacks voiced his displeasure toward the said topic in a conversation he had with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer released on Monday, September 5.
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‘Kinda BS to me’
Bosa is not a fan of field turf. But he’s also not fond of how the league has handled playing surfaces.
And he let it be known in his conversation with Breer.
“I really think Field Turf is a problem in the NFL. And the turf I played on in New York was brand new. It was super soft, and apparently, they rolled a cement roller over it twice after the game because we had two ACLs and a bunch of other injuries on it. So I think if the NFL cared about our safety at all, then we’d all play on grass like top soccer teams do. So that’s kinda b.s. to me,” Bosa said to Breer.
Bosa knows from personal experience how field turf can be on players. It was in 2020 when the sack master had to leave MetLife Stadium on a medical cart after tearing his ACL against the New York Jets. That ailment eventually snatched his second season in the league.
Bosa wasn’t the only one who went down while trying to sprint and plant on that surface. Then-starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and former 49ers running back Raheem Mostert also left the game with lower body related injuries. Those trios of ailments were part of an injury pile up for a team that went from representing the NFC in Super Bowl 54 to falling to 6-10 overall.
It’s not the first time Bosa has called out the league for not installing natural grass. As Bosa watched Super Bowl 56 and witnessed Odell Beckham Jr. clutch his knee, Bosa immediately took to Twitter to demand a change:
“Every player is one play away from altering their career forever when playing on turf. I experienced the bad side of this and it could have been avoided,” Bosa said, before asking his Twitter followers “Help me #FlipTheTurf to real grass with @penningtonlawn.”
Bosa Reveals What his Mindset is For 2022
Fresh off a season that saw him stack a career-best 15.5 sacks, Bosa will be entering this season as a heavy contender to earn NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors — which would be a first for him.
Bosa, though, has had to face this gauntlet weekly: Getting used to not one, but four to six different hands on him to keep him away from the opposing quarterback. Bosa admitted to Breer that early on, he wasn’t expecting to command that much focus on the field.
“I wasn’t really ready for the attention I was gonna get as a player because I was double-teamed the most and I got chipped every play,” Bosa said. “And I kinda started feeling bad for myself. I was like, I can’t help this game. I’m getting doubled.”
Now, with the Chicago Bears on deck for Sunday, September 11, Bosa shared what his new mindset is.
“This year, I’m coming in with the mindset that I’m gonna get doubled,” he said, “And need to be able to beat doubles.”
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