The 49ers have been in training camp for three weeks, but there’s still no sign of Nick Bosa.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is holding out for a lucrative contract extension as he enters the final season of his rookie deal. While there’s no doubting Bosa’s ability, the 49ers will have to do some salary cap gymnastics to make it work with their star-studded roster that already features a host of big contracts.
David Lombardi of The Athletic joined 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast” Wednesday and said it’s not quite time to hit the alarm just yet.
“He didn’t report at the very start of camp, what’s going to cause him to report now?” Lombardi told hosts Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky. “I think the deadline they’re truly working with is Week 1 with Nick Bosa.”
There are still 26 days remaining before the Week 1 matchup at Pittsburgh on Sept. 11 and Bosa is a superhuman athlete, but the 49ers would probably like to get him in camp for some time to reduce his chances of injury.
The 25-year-old Bosa led the NFL with 18.5 sacks last year and looks like he’ll be in the prime of his career for the next few years. The 49ers have told reporters they’re confident they can work a deal out and forgive the millions of dollars Bosa he’s lost while holding out.
“I think the hold up is that both sides are playing hard ball. It’s a staring contest like a game of chicken,” Lombardi said. “ I don’t know if it’s a couple million (dollars). Over the life of the deal, it could be more like 10-15 million (dollars). But the issue is, even if it was a couple million, it’s significant, because the 49ers are really, really crammed up against the salary cap. They have a lot of star players.”
It’s expected that Bosa’s new contract will be in the neighborhood of Aaron Donald’s three-year, $95 million pact he signed last year. That could pose problems for the 49ers down the road, as wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is slated for an extension next year and quarterback Brock Purdy could put himself in position to hold out for a bigger deal if he performs well in 2023.
“When Aaron Donald signed his contract and broke the market as a defensive tackle $31.7 million – which is nearly $3 million annually where everyone on the defensive line is – when that happened and then Bosa won Defensive Player of the Year, that gave them the right to go and say, ‘I wanna be paid like Aaron Donald.’” Lombardi said. “I think that couple million, extrapolate that over five years, with the 49ers so up against the cap – they’re way over already in ‘24 – they’re gonna have to make some cuts. They really want to play hardball here and make sure they can keep this roster stable.”
