SANTA CLARA -- Defensive end Nick Bosa enters his fourth season with the 49ers, and the club seems to have settled on a summer routine that works best for him.
In order words, don't expect to ever see Bosa step on the field and play in a game that has no bearing on the regular-season standings.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said on Friday there is no plan whatsoever to have Bosa play in any preseason games. After all, he has proven he knows how to get ready for the regular season.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
When asked if Bosa would play in any of the 49ers’ three preseason games this year, Shanahan answered, “He never has before and he has done all right, so I think that proves it.”
Bosa was one of 20 players the 49ers held out of the team's exhibition opener on Friday night against the Green Bay Packers.
Bosa did not play in any of the 49ers’ tuneup games in his rookie season of 2019 after sustaining an ankle injury early in training camp. In 2020, the preseason was eliminated around the NFL due to COVID-19.
Last year, the 49ers held out Bosa as he returned from a torn ACL that wiped out nearly his entire 2020 season.
San Francisco 49ers
RELATED: What we learned in 49ers' preseason win over Packers
Bosa returned from that injury to register a team-high 15.5 sacks in the regular season. He added four sacks in three postseason games.
“Nick has prepared, whether we're helping him prepare or he's prepared on his own,” Shanahan said. “If he came to me and that was something he really wanted to do and made sense of it, I'd have no problem. But that's not something that matters much to me.”