Bosa's dad argues 49ers star is disrespected: ‘Absolute joke'

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There’s no denying 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was one of the NFL’s most lethal pass rushers last season, if not one of the league’s top talents overall. 

But in his father John Bosa’s eyes, the San Francisco superstar didn’t receive enough recognition for what he accomplished in 2021 -- especially when the season-ending ACL injury he suffered in 2020 is taken into consideration.

John appeared on 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” on Monday, where he was asked if being left out of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation last season is something that fuels Nick heading into his 2022 campaign.

“Well, I think he’s striving to be the best, and those accolades obviously are nice and I think they would be appreciated,” John said, then brought up a different award he thought his son should have been considered for.

“But I think he’s been disrespected quite a bit in his young career, and I think that continued -- I think not getting one vote for Comeback Player of the Year was an absolute joke,” John continued. “And taking nothing away from his very good friend [Cincinnati Bengals quarterback] Joe Burrow, but I think that was an absolute travesty that [Nick] didn’t get one vote with the kind of year he had coming back.”

Nick finished the 2022 regular season ranked fourth in the NFL with 15.5 sacks, second in sack yards (122) and tied for first in the league in tackles for loss with Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt after they both collected 21.

This success came after a grueling rehab for Nick, who tore his ACL during Week 2 of the 2020 season when the 49ers played the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. 

Burrow, as John mentioned, went on to win CPOY upon taking the Bengals to the Super Bowl following his own recovery from an ACL tear. Watt was named last season’s DPOY after leading the NFL in both sacks and tackles for loss.

While Burrow and Watt's awards were both well-earned, John’s assessment of how voters view Nick also isn’t the first time those close to his son have stated he is underrated.

RELATED: Bosa expects 'smooth' contract talks with 49ers when time comes

When Nick was left off of the 2021 All-Pro team, Kyle Shanahan said he “should be there” and that people don’t appreciate how good the edge rusher is.

But at the end of the day, all that matters to Nick is winning -- and his dad knows it.

“Those things may probably annoy me more than they annoy him," John said. "Because like I said, he’s single-minded and it’s all about the Niners.”

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