Bosa ruled out for season with torn ACL
Fellow line starter Thomas also suffered torn ACL on MetLife Stadium’s turf
Nick Bosa’s senior year in high school was just five years ago, and it got ruined by an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
Same goes for his second year with the 49ers.
Medical tests confirmed that Bosa tore the ACL in his left knee during Sunday’s 31-13 win at the New York Jets, the 49ers announced Monday afternoon.
Fellow defensive line starter Solomon Thomas also tore his left knee’s ACL, two plays after Bosa. Thomas, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2017 out of Stanford, is in the final year of his rookie contract.
Raheem Mostert (MCL sprain) is most likely out for Sunday’s return trip to New York to face the Giants, and fellow running back Tevin Coleman will miss multiple weeks, ESPN reported.
Coach Kyle Shanahan has not ruled out Jimmy Garoppolo from playing against the Giants, even though a high ankle sprain forced him out at halftime.
Nick Mullens replaced Garoppolo and would start Sunday if Garoppolo can’t.
To compensate for the loss of Bosa and Thomas, as well as last week’s neck spasms that sidelined Dee Ford, the 49ers are signing defensive end Ziggy Ansah to a one-year deal as he meets up with them in West Virginia, where they’re practicing this week at The Greenbrier Resort.
Bosa’s injury is especially hard-hitting considering he was a NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
“I’ve got all the faith in the world he’ll be back next year better than ever,” left tackle Trent Williams said Sunday. “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 overcame a 2015 ACL tear to his right knee by flourishing at Ohio State and then winning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with the 49ers, who drafted him No. 2 overall last year.
On Oct. 30, 2015, Bosa was a five-star recruit when he tore his ACL eight games into his senior year at St. Thomas Aquinas High (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), and he missed out on their ensuing defense as Class 7A state champs.
On Sunday, Bosa’s left knee buckled while he engaged in a block with a New York Jets tight end in the first quarter. Two
snaps after Bosa got carted off MetLife Stadium’s new and allegedly sticky turf, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas also injured his left knee, and Thomas got carted, too.
“It’s heartbreaking. Nick is a cornerstone of this team,” Williams said. “He’s part of the nucleus. Not only that, he’s a shining star on the field with a bright future ahead of him.”
Williams and Bosa went toe-to-toe in epic drills the first week of training camp last month, then Bosa missed the next 2 1/2 weeks with an unspecified injury to his upper right leg.
After undergoing core-muscle surgery to truncate his Ohio State career in 2016, Bosa battled through hamstring and ankle injuries ahead of his 49ers rookie season. He produced nine sacks in the regular season and four in the playoffs.
“Everyone’s got to step it up. Everyone knows how great of a player Nick is,” Shanahan said. “Teams do go through this. We lost our quarterback at the beginning of the year two years ago. You look at things like Denver, losing Von (Miller) before the season started.
“So, it’s all very similar to losing a guy like Nick. I think we all understand that, but the thing that makes you excited about that is that we do have a lot of good players on our team.”
OTHER INJURY UPDATES FROM SHANAHAN >> Tight end George Kittle (left knee): He did not play Sunday and will be reevaluated Wednesday.
• Defensive end Dee Ford (back): Originally cast as neck spasms last week, Shahanan said Ford actually has a back issue, upon further medical review.
• Linebacker Dre Greenlaw
(thigh): He sustained a contusion colliding with teammate Azeez Al-Shaair on kickoff coverage.
• Defensive tackle D.J. Jones (ankle): No word on the severity, but what makes this especially concerning is that an ankle injury prematurely ended his 2019 breakout season.
• Cornerback Jason Verrett (hamstring): He is expected to practice Wednesday after missing the past two games. uAS PENALTY >> Shanahan drew a $100,000 fine and the 49ers got docked $250,000 from the NFL after he did not heed last week’s warning about not consistently wearing a mask on the sideline, ESPN reported. The same fines were tolled to Denver’s Vic Fangio and Seattle’s Pete Carroll.
TURF WARS >> The NFL has listened to the 49ers’ chorus of complaints about
“sticky” field conditions on MetLife Stadium’s new, synthetic turf.
Shanahan is hoping now the league somehow will alleviate his players’ concerns ahead of Sunday’s encore visit, where they will face the New York Giants after just beating the New York Jets 31-13 on the same field.
“They’re definitely looking into it,” Shanahan said. “Hopefully, at some time, we get some answers back that can make our players feel a little bit more at ease at playing.”
ANSAI DEAL >> The 49ers finally agreed to a one-year deal with free agent Ansah, Shanahan confirmed. Ansah visited the 49ers twice in the past two months. Ansah is not viewed as a oneman savior to a unit that’s suddenly lost Bosa, Thomas and, for now, Ford.
Defensive end Dion Jordan and defensive tackle Darrion Daniels are options
to come up from the practice squad, and a decision to do so won’t happen until later in the week.
RUNNING BAC RESERVES>>
The 49ers are down to Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson Jr. as backfield options. They could call up JaMycal Hasty from the practice squad for his rookie debut.
EVEN PLANE GETS INJURED >>
How injury-cursed are the 49ers? Even their charter plane got bruised.
“The plane we were supposed to take out on Friday, somehow someone crashed into it on the runway, people working, I guess. They dented it. We thought they were going to fix it. Then they thought it was not safe to travel, so I’m glad they made that decision.”
Instead of flying out of San Jose after Friday’s walk-through practice, the 49ers reversed course up the bay to San Francisco International Airport.