Nick Bosa got a full practice in with the 49ers on Friday and is on track to make his season debut in Sunday’s season opener vs. the Steelers after reporting to the team Thursday.
His extremely truncated offseason that was limited to zero full-speed practices leaves some question about how much he’ll be able to contribute in Pittsburgh. The 49ers might wind up needing to turn their Week 1 game into something of a rapid-fire training camp for their star defensive end.
Buy 49ers TicketsHead coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday in his post-practice press conference didn’t have a specific plan laid out for Bosa. He did emphasize that the team would be smart with him and his snap count would be determined by how the game shakes out.
There’s a clear path for San Francisco to ease the reigning Defensive Player of the Year into action though. They could ostensibly use the first two quarters as a preseason for Bosa.
In the first quarter he could be used as a situational edge rusher where he gets in for passing situations. This allows him to pin his ears back and go without worrying too much about sticking his nose in against the run.
That could continue into the second quarter with a little more work sprinkled in on first and second downs.
After halftime is when the team can start ratcheting up his snaps based on how he feels. The third quarter could start as a mostly normal workload for the DE where he might get a series off.
By the fourth quarter, if the game is tight, Bosa can step in and play what amounts to his normal number of snaps.
Of course, all of this could vary based on game script and how Bosa feels while playing his first football game since January. If he’s struggling, the team can scale it back. If he’s fine, they can ramp him up faster.
In general though it should be easy to get Bosa a significant number of plays with opportunities to make an impact without pushing the limits of his readiness too quickly. A light workload early with a heavy snap count late feels like the right way to re-acclimate Bosa after a full preseason away from the club.
