As one of the NFL's best defenders over the last decade or so, we didn't get to see much of Nick Bosa in 2025. The San Francisco 49ers star pass-rusher tore his ACL in the third game of last season. This injury obviously ended his campaign extremely early and what could've been a bid for his second career Defensive Player of the Year award.
It doesn't seem like that ACL tear will affect Bosa's availability in any meaningful way in 2026.
As 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris clarified earlier this week, Bosa will, in fact, play against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday. The best part for the 49ers? Bosa doesn't appear to have any meaningful limitations. Because Bosa tore his ACL in Week 3 of last year, he's basically
had almost a calendar year to recover and train back to 100 percent. He will be full go as he tries to make Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's life a living hell.
That is, to put it lightly, amazing news for a San Francisco team that has been ravaged by injuries over the last couple of years:
#49ers DC Raheem Morris on DE Nick Bosa:
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 8, 2026
“He’s going (to play). We are not hiding that.”
Of course, Bosa's potential impact, at least from the outset, might be a different story. This is the second time in Bosa's career that he has torn an ACL (albeit not the same one twice). Bosa is still just 28 years old, but it's hard not to imagine him potentially taking some time to knock off some rust now that he's torn one of the most important athletic ligaments in both of his knees.
For the 49ers, they're probably just happy to see him on the field again.
When did Nick Bosa tear his other ACL?
He tore it during the 2020 season, and ironically around the same late-September point. Bosa would eventually rebound and win Defensive Player of the Year two seasons later. The 49ers are undoubtedly hoping for similar results in his second comeback from an ACL tear.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Is Nick Bosa playing against Rams in Australia?
