SF fears Bosa will be out for season with ACL injury
The 49ers fear star defensive end Nick Bosa suffered a season-ending knee injury Sunday, ruining what little joy they took from a victory riddled with fallen players on the MetLife Stadium turf.
Bosa has anterior cruciate ligament damage to his left knee, Kyle Shanahan told reporters following the 31-13 win over the Jets. The coach didn’t elaborate, but the strong belief is Bosa tore his ACL, which would leave San Francisco without one of the league’s best defensive players for the remainder of the year.
While injuries to fellow defensive lineman Solomon Thomas (possible ACL), Jimmy Garoppolo (high-ankle sprain) and Raheem Mostert (knee) quickly followed, it was Bosa’s injury that will bring the most enduring pain.
Bosa figures to miss the 49ers’ remaining 14 regular season games because of what happened on a regular play on their 14th play on defense Sunday.
A simple, firstdown carry by the Jets’ Frank Gore turned nightmarish when Bosa tried to disengage from a block by New York’s Trevon Wesco. Bosa spun one way and his knee spun the other, his leg buckled and he collapsed in a heap on the turf. He stood briefly with an agonizing look on his face before falling to his knees, grabbing his left knee and calling to the sideline for help.
A simple, first-down carry by the Jets’ Frank Gore turned nightmarish when Bosa tried to disengage from a block by New York’s Trevon Wesco. Bosa spun one way and his knee spun the other, his leg buckled and he collapsed in a heap on the turf. He stood briefly with an agonizing look on his face before falling to his knees, grabbing his left knee
and calling to the sideline for help.
“It’s heartbreaking. Nick is a cornerstone of this team,” 49ers left tackle Trent Williams told reporters. “He’s part of the nucleus. Not only that, he’s a shining star on the field with a bright future ahead of him. So, it sucks, man. This is the part of the game nobody likes or wants to talk about or see happen, especially to premier players like Nick.”
Bosa was at the heart of a suffocating 49ers defense last year as the 2019 No. 2 overall pick registered nine sacks, 25 quarterback hits and 16 tackles for a
loss while capturing NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. The 6-foot-4, 266-pounder was even more potent in the postseason with four sacks and 15 tackles in three games for the Super Bowl-bound 49ers.
This is Bosa’s second significant ACL injury, in 2015 he tore his right ACL while playing for St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Bosa has had nagging injuries during his brief time with the 49ers, missing camp with hamstring and ankle injuries last year and a muscle strain on his left leg this summer. But he didn’t let any of his aches and pains cause him to miss any games.
Unfortunately, there’s not much he can do about immediately fighting through his latest injury.
Williams is already preparing for the worst from Bosa’s injury.
“I’ve got all the faith in the world he’ll be back next year better than ever,” Williams
said. “Good thing is he’s been through one of these before. He’s as hard a worker as you’ll find. He’ll overcome adversity and be the best player we expect
him to be.”
Bosa’s teammate, Arik Armstead, is still holding out hope there will be positive news regarding injuries to Bosa and the other 49ers.
“Hopefully we can get some good news. Just pray for them and hopefully everything doesn’t turn out as bad as it looked out there,” Armstead told reporters. “Football is amazing. But those guys I play with are my brothers. How can I be happy when they’re going through tough situations? It’s great we got win but life isn’t all about football. Those guys are my brothers so I’m thinking them.”
If Bosa isn’t irreplaceable on the defensive line, he’s darn close. Bosa’s role this season figured to be even more important following
the off-season trade of fellow Pro Bowl defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to the Colts.
Kerry Hyder Jr. took Bosa’s spot Sunday and is in line to start next Sunday when the 49ers return to MetLife to face the Giants. Hyder, a 29-year-old former Cowboy and Lion, led 49ers linemen with eight tackles, including two solo, and also had two hits on Jets quarterback Sam Darnold.
The 49ers could also lean on veteran free agent Ziggy Ansah, whom the team had in recently for a workout but didn’t sign. The ex-Pro Bowl lineman had a disappointing season in Seattle last year after signing a one-year, $9 million deal — he had just 2 ½ sacks, two years of getting 12 ½ for the Lions.