Getty Nick Bosa celebrates a fourth quarter sack on January 14, 2023 in Santa Clara during the NFC playoffs.
Nick Bosa found a way to strike fear even before his NFL career began with the San Francisco 49ers. One former NFL general manager remembered that intimidating encounter clearly.
Former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim recalled that pre-draft conversation he had with the then-NFL Draft prospect with Colin Cowherd on The Herd on Friday, April 21. It was during a time the Cards and Ex-head coach Kliff Kingsbury were torn between a passer or edge rusher as their first overall pick.
“When Kliff Kingsbury and I got together to go to see players and have dinners, we went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and had dinner with Nick Bosa prior to the draft and loved him, obviously,” Keim shared to Cowherd. “Our highest-graded guy on the board; amazing in every way. The only thing you had to even say was a negative was probably if he got injured in the future, which you couldn’t forecast.”
So the conversation started warmly. But then the mood changed with one arm tactic Bosa made followed by a message in the haunting category.
“So we were leaving the dinner, and we’re walking out of Mastro’s in Fort Lauderdale, and I’ll never forget, he puts his arm around me and Kliff Kingsbury, both of us in basically a headlock, and he said, ‘I think you guys are probably going to end up taking that little quarterback. And if you do…Steve, I will haunt you for the rest of your career.'”
Former Cardinals GM Steve Keim on what Nick Bosa told him during draft visit in 2019:
“I think you guys are probably going to take that little QB — and if you do — I will haunt you for the rest of your career.”
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Eventually, the rival Cardinals took Kyler Murray over Bosa.
Keim Then Shared Private Conversation With Kingsbury After Their Dinner
The moment both Keim and Kingsbury walked out of the restaurant and into their hotel became a prime opportunity for Keim to share this with his head coach.
“God, I hope he can’t catch [Murray],” Keim shared to Cowherd.
Keim remained confident in ultimately choosing the Heisman Trophy winning dual-threat quarterback. He also believed that Murray’s speed would be too much for Bosa.
Keim added, “And he really never did, which was a good thing.”
Bosa vs. Murray History
Fortunately for Murray, he was never sacked by Bosa in their first meeting on Halloween 2019.
But the bad news: Murray endured a three sack day in the 49ers’ 28-25 victory. The protection didn’t fare much better for Murray in the second meeting either — with the 49ers snatching him for four sacks in the 36-26 win on November 17 (Bosa didn’t have a sack but got a tackle for a loss).
Murray ended up getting the better end of the 49ers and Bosa in their first meeting during the 2020 season, with Murray guiding the Cards to a 24-20 win and only getting sacked twice. Murray, though, combined for 321 total yards (91 rushing). Bosa was not healthy for the second meeting as he dealt with his torn ACL.
Murray then claimed his second career victory over the Niners in 2021: Throwing for 239 yards in the 17-10 win that saw the NFL starting debut of Trey Lance on October 10. Murray, though, endured his first sack from Bosa. Murray was not behind center for the Cards’ 31-17 road win on November 7.
But since then, Bosa and the 49ers have had the last laugh against Arizona — putting 38 on the scoreboard twice against the Cardinals as they were without Murray for both games. And the season finale 38-13 romp delivered by the Niners eventually led to the Cards needing a new head coach and GM.