Leaner, lighter, healthier and humbled, Nick Bosa rolled into 49ers training camp this summer with a determined approach and straightforward response to the devastating injury that put a slam-into-the-wall halt last season to his fast-track progress as a rising superstar.
“There’s really no other option but to come back better,” Bosa said.
Not better, as in get well. Better, as in superior to the Nick Bosa of 2019 that took the NFL by storm and played a major role in taking the 49ers all the way to the Super Bowl.
That Bosa steadily grew into one of the NFL’s brightest young stars before everybody’s eyes, developing into an impact player that was so dominant against Kansas City in Super Bowl LIV that Bosa would have been in the discussion for game MVP had San Francisco held on to a 10point lead with fewer than seven minutes to play.
Bosa settled for NFL Rookie of the Year honors — regardless of position — becoming the first San Francisco player ever to earn that honor. He also won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors with one of the best debut seasons ever by a San Francisco rookie and one of the greatest performances of the 21st century by an NFL rookie defender.
We repeat all the hype of Bosa’s first season here because that’s the lasting image most have of the robust defensive end. He didn’t get a chance to build on it when his much-anticipated encore sophomore season became a bad memory by Week 2 and one of the worst things to happen to the 49ers during a 2020 season when a whole heck of a lot went wrong for the team.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 31, 2021-Ausgabe von Niner Report.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 31, 2021-Ausgabe von Niner Report.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
