Why the 49ers may have seen the last of vintage Nick Bosa

What a brutal sport.

San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97). | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

With Nick Bosa out for the rest of the 2025 season due to a torn ACL, there are some serious questions about what he may be able to bring to the table as he closes out his career.

Bosa recorded 18.5 sacks in 2022 and 19.5 sacks in the two combined seasons following. With two years that were less than his expected production, followed by an ACL injury, are we seeing the decline of Bosa? History says that he has a chance to bounce back. 

Will Nick Bosa bounce back with the San Francisco 49ers?

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Bosa will be 29 years old next season. That is starting to get a bit older, especially after an ACL injury. Still, we have seen edge rushers bounce back and extend their careers after this debilitating injury. 

Justin Houston tore his ACL in 2016 after playing five games. He only missed two games the following season and hit 9.5 sacks that year. He had an 11 sack season after that and played until he was 34, posting 9.5 sacks at age 33. He did tear his ACL at age 27, while Bosa is 28, but this is a good outcome. 

Bradley Chubb had the exact same injury at age 28. He came right before the start of the season, but he was healthy for Week 1 this year and posted three sacks in three games so far. 

While there are not many examples to go off, there are other edge rushers with season-ending injuries that led to bounce-back years. 

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Danielle Hunter was 26 years old when a herniated disc ended his season. He only played seven games at age 27 as well. However, he bounced back and had 39 sacks in three seasons since then. He has two sacks this year, in his age-31 season. 

Von Miller suffered a season-ending ankle injury at age 31 and bounced back to post 9.5 sacks the following season. He posted eight sacks at age 33 as well. Miller even tore his ACL in 2023 and bounced back with six sacks at age 35, showing that Bosa still has plenty of time. 

Khalil Mack had a season-ending ankle injury at age 30,  but his age-31 season featured eight sacks, and he recorded 17 sacks at age 32. 

Perhaps the biggest comparison for concern for Bosa is his own brother, Joey. Joey Bosa had 29.5 sacks from ages 24-26. However, ages 27 and 28 were injury-filled seasons in which he dropped off a bit. He was a touch healthier at 29, but posted 14 sacks over that three-year span. This is scarily a bit in line with Bosa, especially the age when the injuries and play started to be impacted the most. 

There is enough reason to be optimistic towards the status of their star rusher next season, but also reason to be cautious at his age and injury status.