Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?
Having trudged through an entire summer—right through training camp, into the preseason games and now, on the brink of Week 1’s opener in Pittsburgh—with star edge rusher Nick Bosa locked in a holdout as he sought to be the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, the 49ers finally followed through and acquiesced to Bosa’s request.
He’s now the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Oh, scratch that – in NFL history. The 49ers, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, have agreed to pay Bosa a five-year contract extension worth $170 million, with $122.5 million guaranteed.
Source: Nick Bosa has agreed to a five-year, $170 million extension with the San Francisco 49ers, including $122.5 million guaranteed, by a wide margin. It will make him the highest-paid defensive player in history.
In the 49ers locker room, it was the screaming of linebacker Fred Warner that mostly announced the news, as player celebrated getting Bosa back in time for the seaosn.
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave said that he was entering the locker room and, “Fred came in here yelling. Pretty much everybody (was yelling), looking at their phone, talking about it. It’s gonna be very exciting, its going to help everyone to have one of our best players back. We’re ready to get to work now.”
Said Warner, via KNBR: “I’m just really happy, ecstatic actually. You should have seen me screaming earlier.”
Trent Williams: ‘Big Part of This Locker Room’
Offensive lineman Trent Williams, a 13-year veteran with 11 Pro Bowl selections to his credit, said he was happy not to have go up against Bosa on the field during training camp, but that he did miss having him in the locker room all this time. Bosa has always been a strong presence in the 49ers clubhouse.
“I don’t miss blocking him, not one bit,” Williams said. “But I do miss being able to pick each other’s brain, just having him here to, you know, have him being in my corner and me being in his corner. As laid-back and mild-toned as he seems, he is a big part of this locker room and a lot of people really follow him and learn a lot from him as far as how to treat your body, as far as eating right and sleeping right. He’s one of those guys that you really need in a locker room.”
Trent Williams is excited to get Nick Bosa back:
“Definitely miss him. As laid back and as monotone as he seems, he’s a big part of this locker room. A lot of people really follow him.”
Bosa is even more useful on the field, of course. He has been a Pro-Bowl player all three seasons he has been healthy (he played only two games in his second year), and led the NFL with 18.5 sacks last year, when he was named Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in tackles for loss in 2021.
49ers Will Use Bosa … a Lot
Now, there may be some concern heading into the Pittsburgh game about Bosa’s readiness for action. He is well-known, as Williams referenced, for keeping in impeccable condition, but there is a difference between lifting weights and running, and actually performing on a football field.
Coach Kyle Shanahan has said frequently that he was less concerned with the physical aspects of Bosa’ holdout than he would be about other players, in part because of Bosa’s work ethic and in part because edge rushers do not have a complicated role in the defense–wind ’em up and send ’em after the quarterback.
Shanahan was asked on Wednesday how many snaps Bosa might play on Sunday.
“How many snaps are in a game?” he replied, before noting he was joking.
“We’ve got to see when he gets here,” Shanahan said. “Nick will come in shape, I know he’ll be good. It’d be great if he could get in some today, I don’t know when he is going to get here or here he’s flying from. We’ll be smart.”
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‘Ecstatic’ 49ers React to Nick Bosa’s Record-Breaking $170 Million Contract