We have a couple of different people weighing in on Nick Bosa’s contract, and neither of them believe the 49ers are close to inking a deal.
The 49ers don’t have a lot of wiggle room regarding salary cap space as the team continues to negotiate an extension with Nick Bosa.
The Athletic’s Matt Barrows joined 95.7 The Game and said Bosa’s agent “could very well be using Tuesday’s 1 p.m. PT deadline as leverage.” That’s the time when every team in the NFL must trim their roster size to 53. Barrows believes that’s the next date for when Bosa’s deal could get done.
Barrows added, “I would worry about Bosa, for sure.” 49ers general manager John Lynch said on Friday that he believes a deal gets done before Week 1, but also said, “we got a lot of work to do.”
Monday morning, on Pat McAfee’s show, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared his perspective of how close a deal is:
“They’re not there yet, and I don’t get the sense they’re close at all. So I don’t get the sense anything is imminent. But at least it sounds like there’s been some level of conversation, I guess, which is as there should be. It’s like there’s been at least some touching base.
They are not there yet. And I know this probably doesn’t make anyone feel better, but there still is a lot of time. I mean, Bosa, I’m sure, keeps himself in unbelievable shape. I don’t think he’s going to need a lot of an acclimation period. So even if he shows up five days from now, I’m sure he’ll be ready for the season.”
Nobody is worried about Bosa getting into shape. I’d be more concerned with those soft tissue injuries happening. Bosa is likely to be on a pitch count if he doesn’t have ample practice time. There’s no way to simulate game speed. So, as he goes through his “ramping up” process, his body will need to get used to that.
Rapoport continued, saying that there’s been a substantial offer made by the 49ers, and that the only question is how much Bosa receives:
“He’s going to make a lot of money. I feel very confident that if he signs a deal, he’s going to be the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL. I feel very confident in that. And he should be. It’s just, how high does he get? Does he get Aaron Donald money? Does he get the highest-paid non-QB? What does he get? And I think that’s more of the question than, ‘are the 49ers going to pay him?’”
Bosa and his agent will get what they want. It’s just a matter of when the 49ers will crack. Bosa is worth every penny and both sides know that.