49ers’ Nick Bosa feeling solid as he still eyes opener in ACL comeback

SANTA CLARA – The final minutes of the 49ers’ preseason opener wound down, and Nick Bosa headed down from the press-box level after watching from afar Thursday night.

Bosa hadn’t been seen at practice the past 1 ½ weeks. That prompted concern over a potential setback in right knee’s ACL recovery.

Bosa doesn’t seem concerned. Instead, he said he is feeling “solid.”

He noted that a four-week cushion allows time to ramp up for the 49ers’ regular-season opener in Melbourne, Australia, against the Los Angeles Rams. Bosa also liked that three home games follow and that each game starts in the early-afternoon (between 1:05 p.m. and 1:25 p.m.).

There was no brace or support sleeve on his knee, just his casual shorts and Birkenstock sandals, as he left the suite-tower’s elevator and sauntered slowly toward the 49ers’ locker room.

Coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Tuesday that Bosa’s knee soreness is actually tendinitis, which Shanahan was advised happens in 90% of ACL comebacks.

Bosa seems committed to forging ahead in another ACL comeback, having rebounded well in 2021 with a reconstructed left knee and captured NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022. But back when his right knee’s ACL gave out in the Sept. 21 home opener (as it did his senior year of high school), he pondered whether or not to call it quits.

Instead, he spent the first week of training camp participating in defensive line drills and mentoring young linemen, as he’s done annually since his own 2019 Defensive Rookie of the Year season.

“He’s a great guy. I love Nick Bosa,” rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton said. “I told him the first time I got here, ‘I’ve been watching you since I was in middle school.’ He was like, ‘Yeah … Is that right?’ That’s my guy, though.”

Bosa gave Halton his approval after the fourth-round pick debuted Thursday night with four tackles, plus a sack that was nullified by a teammate’s holding penalty. “He just smiled at me, gave me a handshake,” Halton said of Bosa, “and he said something to me, but I forgot.”

The 49ers still could use a defensive end upgrade, but for now, they’re hoping one emerges. Shanahan noted after Thursday’s game that multiple defensive ends didn’t start camp with them. Still, Ogbo Okoronko got a sack, and quarterback hits came from Titus Leo and Quinton Bell. Rookie Romello Height drew a hands-to-the-face penalty on his first snap Thursday, but he may have the unit’s best burst until Bosa is at full health.

Still sidelined are Keion White (adductor) and Mykel Williams (Physically Unable to Perform list; knee).

“We have a number of guys competing to make this team, competing to make plays, competing to make the practice squad,” Shanahan said. “I like it when guys make it so we don’t have to make a tough decision. I like guys who jump out at games and practice.”