49ers’ Nick Bosa, undecided on COVID-19 vaccination, plans to play Week 1 after ACL tear
Nick Bosa on Thursday took to the podium inside Levi’s Stadium for the first time since suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last September.
The star pass rusher’s scrum with local reporters began with a question about his wearing a mask, which is mandatory inside team facilities for players not who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I’m just evaluating everything right now. I haven’t made a decision quite yet,” Bosa said when asked about the vaccine. “But (I’m) following the protocols and see where it goes.”
The NFL made it clear to players last week: it wants players to get the vaccine. The protocols for unvaccinated players include wearing masks inside team facilities and social distancing, as well as other restrictive measures similar to those used during 2020, before the vaccine was available. The rules for vaccinated players are far less strict.
49ers general manager John Lynch this week said roughly 90 percent of the team’s players are vaccinated, with Bosa being the team’s only player to publicly indicate he hasn’t been vaccinated.
The other topic surrounding Bosa is his return from injury that cost him the final 14 games of a disappointing 2020. He’s been an active participant during the first two training camp practices but has not participated in full-team drills. That’s expected to come at some point in August before the start of the regular season Sept. 12 in Detroit.
Bosa, the 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year, indicated that because his injury last season happened in Week 2 last season, he’s expecting to be available for the opener against the Lions.
“Everything right now is trending towards that. So I’m hoping to ramp it up as I go and be ready to give it all I got Week 1,” Bosa said.
The 49ers are hoping Bosa can have a similar impact on the defense he had when he helped the team reach the Super Bowl during his rookie year. He’s arguably the team’s most important defensive player given his potential to develop into one of the game’s best pass rushers. He recorded 9.0 sacks and 25 quarterback hits in 2019, when San Francisco finished with the top-ranked pass defense in the NFL.
Without Bosa last year, the 49ers went from fifth in the league with 48 sacks to 30, the 10th-fewest in 2020.
Bosa said he’s been working on his body since March and regularly sent videos of his workouts to 49ers coaches and members of the training staff to track his progress. He changed his diet to include more juices, raw vegetables and salads to be leaner. He’s down some three to five pounds from 2019 — in the 263 to 265 range — to 260, but he said he’s stronger than he was two seasons ago.
“I’m moving better than I ever have right now, for sure,” Bosa said.
The time frame for Bosa’s return to team drills will be made in conjunction with the training staff and coaches. Bosa suffered hamstring and ankle injuries that wiped out his summer before his rookie season, yet he appeared in all 19 games, including the playoffs, despite spraining his ankle during the first week of training camp.
Bosa indicated he’ll need practice time in order to develop enough confidence in his left knee to be given a heavy workload.
“You won’t really know how it responds until you take a real rep and have a big offensive lineman pushing on you and all of that stuff,” Bosa said. “We’re trying to simulate it as much as possible right now. My body’s responding really well, so once I get out there and go against Trent a few times, I think it’ll be a pretty quick confidence boost.”
In terms of changing his body and shedding weight, Bosa indicated there was no downside, particularly if he’s able to be stronger than he was in 2019.
“I’m pushing as much weight as I did back then. So I’m stronger, upper body wise. My legs are still coming along,” he said. “But they’re moving really well and I’m bending good. So I just like to find ways to improve. It’s my job to take care of my body so I may as well use every resource and thing I can do.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 3:09 PM.
