The 49ers overcame a rash of injuries last year to go 12-5 and advance to the divisional round of the playoffs. Defensive end Nick Bosa was among 49ers cornerstones who couldn’t get through 2025 healthy. The five-time Pro Bowler’s season ended when he tore his right ACL in Week 3, but he is trending in the right direction roughly eight months later.
Speaking with reporters this week, Bosa said he is “pretty far along” in his recovery (via Nick Wagoner of ESPN). Bosa also expressed optimism that he will be ready for the start of training camp in late July. That would not come as a surprise, as Wagoner notes the 49ers have been anticipating either a late-July or early August return. There was no damage to other ligaments or his meniscus, leading to a less arduous rehab process.
A couple of months after Bosa’s season ended, fellow defensive end Mykel Williams went down with a torn ACL in Week 9. The 2025 first-round pick is also on the right track in his recovery.
With limited contributions from Bosa and Williams, the 49ers totaled the NFL’s fewest sacks (20) and finished a similarly poor 29th in pass rush win rate. Bryce Huff and Clelin Ferrell tied for the team lead with four sacks apiece, but the former retired and the latter has gone unsigned since free agency opened in March. Nevertheless, the 49ers have not taken any home run swings at the position this offseason. They signed former Bengal Cameron Sample to a cheap deal in April and then spent a third-round pick (70th overall) on Romello Height a couple of weeks later.
If healthy, Bosa and Williams will top a depth chart that also includes Keion White and Sam Okuayinonu. White was shot in the ankle in a scary incident in February, but he quickly underwent successful surgery. However, it is unclear whether he will be good to go for the beginning of camp.
“They’re coming along,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said of his recovering pass rushers (via Wagoner). “They’re all in there rehabbing with a number of other guys. A couple of those guys will have chance of training camp. We’ll see with Mykel as he goes.
As if losing Bosa in September wasn’t enough of a blow, the 49ers took another severe hit when superstar linebacker Fred Warner dislocated his ankle in a Week 6 loss to the Buccaneers in October. It initially looked as if Warner had no chance to return in 2025. The 49ers advised him to focus on 2026 at first, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic, but changed their tune when they saw how well he was coming along. They went on to designate Warner to return from IR on Jan. 13, four days before they faced the Seahawks in the second round. Warner did not end up playing in Seattle, which beat San Francisco in a 41-6 rout, but may have taken the field had the 49ers gotten to the NFC title game.
Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Bosa and Warner should be in the starting lineup when the 49ers’ season kicks off in Australia on Sept. 10. They will take on the NFC West rival Rams in a battle of teams with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.