San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa (97) during training camp at Levi's Stadium.
Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
The San Francisco 49ers are going to have their hands full in Week 1 of the 2026 season. They're facing off against the overwhelming Super Bowl favorites… in Australia, while two of their key players are still recovering from an injury. The odds are stacked against their favor… so San Francisco is hoping to get everyone in time for this game.
Thankfully, the 49ers will get one of their star players back… and they're not being coy about it. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris talked about star pass rusher Nick Bosa's availability after missing most of the 2025 season. Morris said that they're not trying to hide Bosa's status, announcing that the former DPOY will play in Week 1 against the Rams.
“He’s going (to play),” Morris said, per Nick Wagoner.” We are not hiding that.”
Bosa suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 of the 2025 season, ending his season prematurely. The tear happened on the same knee that the 49ers star injured in high school. Bosa also suffered a torn ACL on his other knee in 2020. His teammates have raved about Bosa's recovery: OL Trent Williams had nothing but praise for his teammate.
“I mean, speaking of Bosa, though, he looks like…I mean…I see him every day,” Williams said. “I couldn't even tell that he had an injury or he came back from anything. Most people with a knee injury that catastrophic, you come back, you can see something, right? You can see it in the atrophy and the muscle in the legs. You can see something.”
Bosa was just one of the many 49ers players who missed time due to an injury. San Francisco would later lose Fred Warner to a devastating ankle injury. On the other side of the ball, Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Ricky Pearsall missed time due to various injuries. Despite all these injuries, the 49ers were still able to make it to the Divisional Round, though they would lose to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks.