49ers' Bosa making progress, could be back for training camp

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- As he continues to recover from a torn ACL in his right knee, defensive end Nick Bosa isn't fully participating in theSan Francisco 49ers' organized team activities this week.

Bosa, speaking to the Bay Area media Thursday for the first time since the injury, said he's making progress and it's realistic to think he could be back for the start of training camp or soon after, barring any setbacks.

"I'm pretty far along," Bosa said. "[I'm] out on the field doing a lot of stuff, trying to just take it slow because I tend to push things quicker. I got injured pretty early last year, so there's plenty of time for me to really kind of lay the groundwork to be ready for a long season. It's going really well and I plan on being ready."

Though Bosa isn't participating in the on-field practice sessions, he has been doing his rehab and recovery in Santa Clara. Bosa sustained the injury in a Sept. 21 win against the Arizona Cardinals when he was engaged with tackle Kelvin Beachum and knocked to the ground by guard Evan Brown.

Bosa's knee bent awkwardly as he went down, and he slowly walked to the sideline. Bosa attempted to loosen the knee up but knew something was wrong, with coach Kyle Shanahan officially confirming the injury the following day.

Because Bosa suffered the injury early in the season and had no other ligament or meniscus damage -- Shanahan called the tear "as clean as it gets" -- the Niners have always eyed a late July or early August return for him.

For now, Bosa said he's doing some work on the side as his teammates go through OTAs and that his body "feels pretty darn good," noting this is the best his fingers have felt in 20 years.

It has helped Bosa that he has been through it before, as he notes a better understanding of when to put his foot on the gas in his rehab and when to dial it back.

"When I did it in '20, it was just like balls to the wall, get back, push every milestone as hard as you possibly can and I probably dealt with some stuff that I didn't need to deal with in terms of just kind of the bumps in the road of recovery," Bosa said. "Now, I'm taking it slow and I kind of have references to go back and look at."

That's not to say the recovery process has been easy. Though Bosa previously tore his right ACL as a high school senior and his left ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 season, he said there are mental hurdles that can be as daunting as the physical recovery.

For Bosa, that was especially true in a season where the 49ers went 12-5 and advanced to the NFC divisional round but finished with a league-low 20 sacks and lacked any sort of consistent pass rush for most of the season. In the first two weeks before his injury, Bosa had eight pressures, 15 tackles and made game-saving sacks late in a pair of victories against the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints.

"It was rough early on," Bosa said. "You just want to be able to play, especially how good things were going for the defense and me personally I felt that was at a pretty high level to start the year. As you started out [rehab] wanting to quit, never play again and never put your body in that position again and then slowly you realize that you love this game and you want to get back to it. ... I've never doubted that I could get back to where I am."

Bosa isn't the only Niners defensive lineman recovering from injury. Defensive lineman Mykel Williams, the team's No. 1 pick in 2025, tore his right ACL in early November, and defensive end Keion White is recovering from a gunshot wound to the ankle sustained in February.

"They're coming along," Shanahan said. "They're all in there rehabbing with a number of other guys. A couple of those guys will have chance of training camp. We'll see with Mykel as he goes."

As for free agent defensive end Joey Bosa, who has long been rumored to come to San Francisco to play with his brother, Nick indicated Thursday there's nothing imminent on that front.

"I think he's working on his golf game," Nick Bosa said. "So, I don't think he's thinking too much about football."br/]