San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa has been one of the best players for the team in his career. However, he is out for the rest of the 2025 NFL season.
Bosa isn’t on the field against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4, and the 49ers’ defense would have benefited a lot with his presence. San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, would have been happier watching his crew out there with the five-time Pro Bowler in the middle of the action.
When Will Nick Bosa Return for the 49ers?
Bosa tore his ACL in a game against the Arizona Cardinals this season, and 49ers general manager John Lynch revealed his star’s health after that game.
In the team’s first three games this season, Bosa had three sacks. He’s a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, too, establishing his name among the best in the league at his position.
Clocking in ⏰ pic.twitter.com/OXebF1tIlL
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 2, 2025
Now, though, the 49ers will have to go through the rest of this season without him on the field. It’s a devastating blow.
When will Bosa return to the field? Not until the 2026 NFL season. Lynch was asked if the 49ers would be looking to trade and get a replacement for Bosa this season. In his response, Lynch didn’t sound like he was going to stand pat.
“Of course, we’re always looking,” Lynch said in late September. “That’s our job. We’re not afraid, and we’ve been effective in doing that. This is no different. I do think we’re a deep group there, and that depth’s going to be tested. We’ll see what’s out there at the appropriate time.”
Bryce Huff, Mykel Williams, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Sam Okuayinonu are going to have to take up the slack in Bosa’s absence. Williams was a 2025 first-round draft pick for the 49ers, so he’s being thrown into the fire immediately.
Bosa was a first-round draft pick (second overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. He has 64.5 total career sacks and has five Pro Bowl selections to his resume. He won his Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022.
Bosa was in his seventh year in the NFL when he was injured. The 49ers have been keeping the Rams offense in check on Thursday night. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hopes these other players will be able to step up in a big, big way. The 49ers’ defense might be missing its leader at this time, but those four players are being asked to deliver in the clutch.
Heading into Week 5, the 49ers’ defense was ranked 15th best in the league based on PFSN’s Defense Impact metric.
