49ers defense faces difficult questions after Nick Bosa injures knee

Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

It was starting to look like we were going to see a vintage Nick Bosa season for the San Francisco 49ers in 2025. However, that was quickly derailed early into Week 3 when he was ruled out with a leg injury. 

The San Francisco 49ers lost Nick Bosa with a leg injury in Week 3 

Bosa was injured on the first series of the game. He came up hobbled and lay down on the sideline while the trainers worked on him for a bit. After heading into the locker room before halftime, he was quickly deemed out after halftime.

Bosa was off to a great start this season with two sacks in two games. After posting 18.5 sacks in 2022, he had 19.5 sacks in the two years combined. It had fans wondering if he had fallen off a bit. 

Bosa had dealt with injuries through those two seasons and was not quite at his peak performance, but things looked like they were turning for the best this season. Unfortunately, he went down early in Week 3 and was not able to build on the hot start. 

San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa (97). | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

While we do not know the complete status on Bosa, there is already going to be questions and potential doubt about playing next week, given his injury history, the way the team has had injuries hurt them, and with how quickly he was ruled out. 

The 49ers are going to lean heavily on Mykel Williams, Bryce Huff, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Sam Okuayinonu to step up with Bosa out. Williams had a small injury in Week 3 as well, but it appeared to be minor, and he returned. 

Still, those names all sound good in conjunction with Bosa, but when you remove Bosa, they all have their questions, and all of them can be handled when the attention is not shifting to Bosa. 

Williams is just a rookie, and Huff is a situational pass rusher.  Gross-Matos has been dealing with injury himself, and the team has been limiting his snaps. He has mostly rushed from the inside, but he is going to need to play a lot more and take on more edge snaps. Then, there is Okuayinonu, who has been a good rotational player but may not be ready for a bigger role. 

With George Kittle, Brock Purdy, and Brandon Aiyuk leading the list of star players already on the sideline, this injury is devastating. The practice reports throughout the week will be worth following.