Nick Bosa Gives Encouraging ACL Update Ahead of 49ers' Australia Opener
A real recovery update from a star pass rusher brings encouraging news before a season-opening trip abroad.
Nick Bosa gave an encouraging update on his ACL recovery — "I've gotten a good amount of cardio work and I feel explosive" — ahead of the 49ers' season opener against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
Useful next steps
San Francisco signed long-snapper Jon Weeks off the practice squad and waived tight end Brayden Willis to make roster room, as the team works through what's been described as five real defensive questions entering the opener.
Bosa, 28, tore his ACL in late September 2025 and played just three games that season, finishing with 17 tackles and two sacks before the injury ended his year. It's the second major absence in three seasons for a pass rusher who has 64.5 sacks in 85 career games and led the NFL with 18.5 in 2022 — real, elite-level production when healthy, which is exactly the question hanging over this comeback.
Even with Bosa back, there's real reason to doubt this is a good pass-rushing unit in 2026 — Bosa and fellow edge Mykel Williams are both coming off ACL injuries, and rookie Romello Height is stepping in for Bryce Huff.— Nick Wagoner, ESPN 49ers reporter
Edge rusher is the weakest position on this team — that might sound surprising with Bosa still on the roster, but his health is a huge part of the equation.— Matt Barrows, The Athletic
San Francisco's defense ranked dead last in the NFL in sacks last season with 20, and 20th against the run — real, ugly numbers that a single healthy pass rusher can't fix alone, no matter how encouraging his own cardio work looks in August. Our take: expect Bosa to be a real difference-maker on a per-snap basis immediately, but treat any talk of this defense jumping into the league's upper half as premature until the whole edge group, not just Bosa, proves it can stay on the field together.
Week 1 Prediction: Score, Spread & Player Prop
Rams -3.5 road favorites (moneyline -185, 49ers +154), per ESPN and CBS Sports.
Total sits at 48.5, and betting models lean Over. Our pick: 49ers 24, Rams 23 (Under, narrow 49ers upset). The Rams are just 8-11 all-time against Kyle Shanahan and are landing roughly 24 hours before kickoff after a 15-hour flight, while San Francisco arrived in Melbourne nearly a week early.
Nick Bosa OVER 0.5 sacks. Even on a snap count, Bosa's per-play pass-rush win rate has historically outpaced nearly every edge defender in the league.
Odds and props reflect market consensus across DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM as of this week — lines move, so check your own sportsbook before kickoff.
One more real subplot: Rams receiver Puka Nacua, 25, is expected to play despite a lingering psoas injury, with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting there's a real chance he avoids NFL discipline altogether for an offseason incident that's still being litigated.
Bosa's recovery ahead of a season-opening trip abroad
Nick Bosa suffers an ACL injury.
Bosa says he feels 'explosive' in his recovery.
49ers open the season against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
A genuinely positive recovery update gives San Francisco's defense real hope heading into the opener.
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Sources: 49ers.com, Niners Nation, SI.com Betting, Pro-Football-Reference