Rams vs. 49ers Schedule: Nick Bosa Holdout Update - A 'Special' Contract Move?
Time and time again, these matters get solved. Teams cave. Players give in. Holdouts end. But while the NFL has put great focus on the running backs who spent the offseason in contract disputes, one major player - and one major storyline in the NFC West - remains.
Nick Bosa, as of Thursday morning, is continuing his holding out in hopes of receiving a new contract.
"We're in good communication with his reps,'' San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch said this week via KNBR Radio. "He's a special player, he's going to get a special contract, I can tell you that. We're getting closer and we're eager to bring this thing to a close."
But for the moment? The season looms. And so does Week 2, when the Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to take on the defending division champs.
Rooting for Bosa to stay on the couch for a few more weeks? Nobody wishes ill will on anybody ... but yeah. The Rams - not expected by many to be a 2023 contender - could use every break they can get.
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday that he believes a deal will be "done soon.'' He also was asked about whether San Francisco would consider trading the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
"No," Shanahan said, and that's too bad for the Rams and everybody else on the 49ers schedule, too. The 25-year-old pass rusher is coming off a 2022 season during which he led the league with 18.5 sacks. He's more than lived up to expectations that came from being the second overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, as he is now a perennial Pro Bowler.
Last spring, the 49ers picked up Bosa's fifth-year option with the plan to pay him $17.85 million. Some estimates place that at $10 million less than his value ... with T.J. Watt of the Steelers the highest-paid defender ever at around $28 million APY.
Bosa and the 49ers - who open the regular season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 10 before taking on the Rams - will eventually get this done. ... in a "special'' way, as Lynch said.
But the Los Angeles Rams have no problem with them taking their time about it.
