For the most part, the San Francisco 49ers could not have enjoyed a better start to their 2026 season.
After their 2025 campaign was marred by a rash of injuries, the 49ers opened 2026 with two consecutive blowout victories, including a convincing win in Melbourne, Australia, over their NFC West rival, the Los Angeles Rams. Brock Purdy is playing like an MVP candidate. Predictably, Kyle Shanahan has the pulse of his offense as a play-caller, which is helped by the 49ers mostly having their full complement of weapons. Raheem Morris's defense even looks rather impressive, with superstar linebacker Fred Warner playing like a potential Defensive Player of the Year.
Unfortunately, a new injury for Nick Bosa might force San Francisco to face a little
more early-season adversity than expected. But hey, at least they have the necessary calluses to deal with poor health luck for their best players.
After suffering a calf injury during this past week of practice, Bosa will not play against the Arizona Cardinals at home in Week 3. Bosa had gotten off to a slow start and is coming off an ACL tear last season, but he's still a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber defender who the 49ers really need to play like himself to reach their full potential as a possible Super Bowl contender. For the time being, both the 49ers and Bosa will have to wait a little longer for him to get his rhythm back as a pass-rusher, as he's expected to miss a few weeks without a stay on injured reserve:
49ers have decided not to place DE Nick Bosa on injured reserve, per league source. Bosa pulled his calf muscle at Thursday’s practice and now is expected to miss few weeks - but avoid IR. pic.twitter.com/ZiGU85zckz
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 27, 2026
Bosa, still just 28, should have a long runway remaining in his NFL career. At his best, he's likely still a double-digit-plus sack guy who gets a lot of quarterback pressures. His calf injury is a setback, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Bosa return to form as a field-tilting edge defender around the midseason mark.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: When is Nick Bosa coming back to the 49ers?
