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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — San Francisco 49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa is set to play in the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in his first game action since a tearing a knee ligament last September.
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Bosa tore the ACL in his right knee on Sept. 21 last season. He began training camp on the active roster but missed almost all of camp with tendinitis and soreness in the knee. He returned to practice last week and now is ready to play the opener on Friday in Australia.
“He’s going out there,” defensive coordinator Raheem Morris told reporters before the team practiced at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Tuesday. “He’ll be there. We’re not hiding that.”
The 49ers are counting on a healthy Bosa this season to help spark a pass rush that finished last in the NFL with 20 sacks last season. Bosa has had at least nine sacks in the five seasons when he didn’t get hurt in the opening month as he has been one of the most productive edge rushers ever since being drafted second overall in 2019.
Bosa has made the Pro Bowl in all five of his healthy seasons and won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022, when he led the league with 18 1/2 sacks.
Bosa’s 74 1/2 sacks in the regular season and playoffs are the fifth-most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2019 despite missing nearly two full seasons. His 280 total pressures rank fourth-most in the NFL in that span, according to Sportradar.
Star tight end George Kittle is also expected to play in his first game since he ruptured right Achilles tendon in the playoffs last January. He returned to practice late last month and is set to play the opener.
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“Super impressed with how he’s looked considering the injury he had and how quickly he got back out on the field and just committed to his rehab,” offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said. “It’s been pretty cool to see Kittle out there looking like himself to me, looking fresh. How that affects him on game day and what the workload is, that will be determined. But he looks good to me. He’s practicing full speed. He’s getting a ton of reps. So I feel like we’re in good shape.”
Kittle is a two-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler who is a key part of San Francisco’s offense as a passing threat and a blocker in the run game. He had 57 catches for 628 yards receiving and seven touchdowns last season.
49ers remain mum on starting left guard
The one major uncertainty about San Francisco’s lineup for the opener is at left guard where several players have rotated with the starters in training camp as the team waited for someone to seize the job.
The leading contenders now appear to be rookie Carver Willis and second-year player Connor Colby but Kubiak wouldn’t say who would get the nod. He also said there could be a rotation at the spot.
Willis is a fourth-round pick out of Washington who didn’t play guard at all in college. Despite playing tackle in college, the Niners envisioned him as an interior lineman when they drafted him and have worked him extensively at guard this summer.
Colby was a seventh-round pick last year out of Iowa. He started six games at guard last season but struggled. He began camp as the starter but was unable to solidify that role.
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