Should the 49ers sit Nick Bosa Against the Falcons?
Nick Bosa suffered a groin injury in the 49ers win over the Panthers in Week 5.
The groin injury occurred right before halftime and forced Bosa out for the rest of the game. Bosa remained suited up as if he could go back into the game at any time, and he probably would've forced it had it been his call. But the 49ers elected to keep him out and rightfully so.
“It was bothering him today,'" Kyle Shanahan said on Monday, "so yeah, you always want to use caution, especially with Nick on that type of stuff, but I know if he went today, if we practiced today, he couldn’t go. I'm hoping that he does better throughout this week but yeah, it wasn't feeling great today.”
A groin injury is what kept George Kittle out of the first couple of games of the season and it is plaguing his brother Joey Bosa right now. Great care must be taken to ensure no further injury occurs. The last thing the 49ers want is for Bosa to come back too quickly and miss more games than he needed to.
Should the 49ers sit Bosa against the Falcons?
Take away his pads and helmet immediately. The 49ers do not need Bosa for this game while he deals with his injury. For him to be fully fit against the Falcons seems like a stretch even if he is kept out of practice this week alone. These injuries always linger like hamstring pulls.
And with the 49ers facing a running quarterback in Marcus Mariota, there will be more chasing for Bosa in this game should he play. That will put his groin at further risk. Even if Bosa is starting to feel better as the week goes on, it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to their best defensive player. The defense has been able to overcome plenty of injuries to key players. Missing Bosa will definitely see them drop off, but it shouldn't be so drastic that the Falcons gash them all game long. The 49ers have more than enough on defense to bottle up the Falcons on offense.
Sitting Bosa out for this game is for the bigger picture. There are more critical games in the near future, such as Week 7 against the Chiefs, that will require the presence of Bosa more than the Falcons. Hold him out of this game as a precaution to fully allow him to be fit the rest of the way with nothing to linger.
The defensive line depth that the 49ers have should be fine against the Falcons.
