Though 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa is coming off a torn ACL, he won’t have any restrictions for Sunday’s season opener against the Lions.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week that he expected to see “a lot” of Bosa in Week One. The player himself said on Thursday that should be the case.
“There’s really no pitch count for me,” Bosa said, via Taylor Wirth of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “I’m just going to go whenever [defensive line coach] Kris [Kocurek] tells me. I’m fully confident to play as many snaps as I need to.”
Bosa tore his ACL in Week Two of last season when the 49ers beat the Jets. After winning defensive rookie of the year in 2019, Bosa didn’t have much time to show how he’d improved for Year Two. But now he says there’s even more in his toolbox for 2021.
“A lot of the stuff I was going to add to my game last year, obviously I wasn’t able to,” Bosa said. “I think it’ll be a good year.”
Bosa recorded 9.0 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 25 quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and an interception as a rookie. He played only 68 defensive snaps before suffering the injury last year, but picked up six total tackles, a forced fumble, and a QB hit.