The 49ers are just 13 days away from their Sept. 10 season opener and Nick Bosa isn’t with the team yet, as he tries to negotiate a hefty extension to his rookie deal, which expires after this season.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is likely still in great shape as he stays away from the squad, but at what point should Niners fans get nervous?
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport joined ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ Monday and gave his latest intel on Bosa’s holdout.
“They’re not there yet and I don’t get the sense they’re close at all,” Rapoport said. “I don’t get the sense anything is imminent. It sounds like there’s been some level of conversation, I guess, as there should be. There’s at least been some touching base. They’re not there yet.”
Following Friday’s preseason finale against the Chargers, 49ers general manager John Lynch said he’s still confident that they’ll get a deal done by Week 1, but it sounds like there’s still plenty of work to do at the negotiating table.
Rapoport, for one, thinks it’s not time to panic just yet.
“I know this doesn’t make anyone feel better, but there still is a lot of time,” Rapoport said. “Bosa, I’m sure, keeps himself in unbelievable shape. I don’t think he’s gonna need a lot of acclimation period. Even if he shows up five days from now, I’m sure he’ll be ready for the season.”
We assume there’s mutual interest between the Niners and Bosa to get a long-term deal done, so the issue has to be money at this point. Many figure that Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s $31.7 million average annual value is the starting point for Bosa and his agent, as he is the league’s highest-paid defensive player. When it comes to pure edge-rushers, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett ($25 million AAV) is currently the league’s highest-paid player.
“He’s going to make a lot of money,” Rapoport said of Bosa. “I’m feeling very confident that if he signs a deal, he’s gonna be the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. I feel very confident in that. And he should be. It’s just – how high does he get? Does he get Aaron Donald (money)? Does he get highest-paid non-QB? What does he get? I think that’s more of the question than, ‘Are the 49ers gonna pay him?’ Their offer is substantial and there’s been back-and-forth. It’s going to make a lot of money, it’s just a question of how high – and when Nick Bosa and his agent go, ‘All right, this is proper.’”
