The San Francisco 49ers were finally able to see eye-to-eye on a contract extension with superstar defensive end Nick Bosa this week, which means the 2023 NFL season should get off on the right foot for these Super Bowl title contenders.
With Bosa now one of the highest-paid players in the NFL, the attention turns to him getting ready for the rigors of a 17-game regular season and a deep run in the playoffs that will likely follow for this team.
However, there has been some doubt that Bosa will be ready for the start of the season as a result of missing all of training camp and the games played during the NFL preseason.
Fortunately for the 49ers, that doesn’t seem to be the case, with head coach Kyle Shanahan saying that his best defensive player looks ready to go when this team takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road on Sunday, per Nick Wagoner.
#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan says DE Nick Bosa looks “ready to go.” He will play, as expected, Sunday. How many snaps will be dependent on game flow as they gauge Bosa’s stamina throughout.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 8, 2023
Although the Steelers don’t pose the same threat as a team like the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, with the storied franchise still developing Kenny Pickett as Ben Roethlisberger’s successor in Pittsburgh, the team is still stacked with talent offensively, which should put Bosa and the 49ers defense to the test in Week 1.
It’ll be interesting to see what level of conditioning Bosa is at in this game and whether he needs to take limited snaps in order to get back up to speed as the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
The 49ers should come out on top in this game one way or the other, as they are, without a doubt, the better all-around football team on paper.
NEXT: 49ers GM Shares Details About Nick Bosa's Contract Negotiations
