It’s officially Week 1 and the 49ers are still playing chicken with Nick Bosa at the negotiating table.
The Niners held a light practice Monday and Bosa remains holding out for a contract extension as he enters the final season of his rookie deal. General manager John Lynch has been steadfast in his belief that the two sides will strike an agreement in time for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year to join the squad before Sunday’s opener at Pittsburgh.
NFL analyst Brian Baldinger joined 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” Tuesday and said doesn’t get why there’s a hold-up, especially given the 49ers history of high-paying five-year extensions.
“I’m not here to sit and pound the table for Nick but obviously just don’t look like the same team without him,” Baldy told hosts Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. “They went and paid Trent Williams, the highest paid left tackle. They paid Fred (Warner) – he was the highest-paid linebacker a brief little moment there. They paid (George) Kittle – he was the highest paid there until (Travis) Kelce beat him out. Just look – Christian McCaffrey is the highest-paid running back by a wide margin. They have agreed, that when you’re a great player in this organization, they pay you and they take care of you.”
“I’m sure Nick is sitting back and going, ‘I’ve just seen all these guys get paid. I just won Defensive Player of the Year Award, we’re the No. 1 defense in football.’ At some point you just go, ‘What’s the fight over?’ I don’t know. Is it only Aaron Donald money, is that what’s holding it back? Is that much different than TJ Watt money? We know it’s pretty easy to slot him. I just don’t think it should be that difficult right now.”
While Donald’s contract has an average annual value of $31.7 million, Watt is making an average of $28 million a season. That’s a difference of about $18.5 million over four seasons, and for all we know, Bosa’s camp is asking for more money than Donald to become the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s matchup, Baldy said the Steelers would obviously benefit from Bosa’s absence if his holdout drags that long.
“I think it’s just a whole lot easier to operate your offense when Nick is not in there,” Baldy said. “You’re not as concerned with the variety of protections you’re gonna have, whether it’s the chips, the tight ends, the slides – all the different ways you try to combat him. Maybe Drake Jackson breaks out and he can do it, but nobody is gonna be better with Nick Bosa not in there.
“We believe that Javon Hargrave is gonna be a factor. We believe Arik Armstead is gonna be a factor, but Nick makes everybody on that group and at linebacker who lines up behind him – he makes ‘em all better.”
