MELBOURNE, Australia – “Atrophy is real,” says Nick Bosa.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive end has some of the biggest thighs in the NFL – quads that look like ancient oak trunks baked from acacia. But this year, one of these thighs – the right one – is much thinner than its spouse.
That’s because Bosa had surgery in October to repair a torn right ACL, and the rest and recovery that followed robbed his right thigh of normal weight.
“I don’t remember (the size difference) but it was very difficult after surgery,” he said. It takes two years to gain the last two centimeters.
Nick Bosa’s right quad is smaller than his left.
Matt Barrows
How does having different size thighs affect the game? No, he said. And he has the stats to prove it.
Bosa tore his left ACL in September 2020, then saw his left thigh literally lag behind as the 2021 season approached. It was nothing. He started every game that season, finished with 15.5 sacks — a career high at the time — and led the NFL with 21 tackles for loss. He made the Pro Bowl and won the 49ers’ Bill Walsh Award, which is given by the coaches to the team’s MVP.
The team is counting on a similar rebound this season against the Los Angeles Rams starting Thursday. He plays bossa Although he missed all but practice this summer with tendinitis in his right knee.
Defensive end is the area of greatest concern for the 49ers as Matthew Stafford and a Rams unit that led the league in total offense last year prepare.
Michael Williams won’t play until Oct. 11 against the Seattle Seahawks after being placed on the practice list. Sam O’Quinone, who started 12 games last season, broke his leg last week, an injury that threatens to end his 2026 season. And third-round pick Romelo Hight recently returned from an ankle injury that kept him out of practice for about a week.
Still, there’s no panic in the organization to make a trade or bring in a big-name free agent because the belief is that Bosa will be fine.
After sitting out Monday’s practice, he returned to the field for Tuesday’s session at AAMI Park in Melbourne. Bosa wore a compression sleeve on his right knee and participated in the first 20 minutes of practice, which was open to reporters, and moved around as usual. It is unknown whether he participated in the whole session; The 49ers won’t report their practice participation until 8:30 a.m. Wednesday Melbourne time (3:30 p.m. Tuesday California).
“Oh, it’s going there,” defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said before practice. “It’s going to be there, we’re not going to hide that.”
Much of the team’s assurance stemmed from the fact that Bosa participated in only a handful of practices this summer, as he has in the past.
In the year He missed nearly all of his rookie season in 2019 after suffering a sprained hamstring in the spring and a sprained ankle in the summer, but still managed one sack and three quarterback tackles in Week 1 that year. In the year The 2023 contract dispute was not resolved until September 6. Bosa played in the season opener four days later, with two tackles and a quarterback.
“I’ve always believed that the athlete knows their body better than anyone, and Nick has definitely taken that to the nth degree,” general manager John Lynch said earlier this month. He knows his body well and knows what it takes to prepare him. In a contract year, we’ve seen him come in here on Thursday and play well on Sunday. So we have a lot of confidence in his ability to do that.
Nick Bosa is in action.
Matt Barrows
Bosa also said he feels faster without adding much to his legs.
That was, of course, by combining ACL recovery in 2021 with an improved diet built on fruits, vegetables, raw fish, and egg whites. As a result, his body fat dropped to 9 percent, which is one of the lowest in the group.
Bosa said this week that his body fat percentage is about the same this year, though not as extreme as it was after his 2020 ACL tear.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be strict again,” he said. “In terms of cutting carbs and stuff, it was a little too much.”
I also do not sweat the difference in the thigh belt.
Bossa said he could speed up the muscle building in his right thigh if he wanted to.
“But it didn’t really pay attention to me,” he said. “I don’t change my training just to get size. I don’t train like a bodybuilder – I train like an athlete. I don’t want to add exercises to my legs that aren’t good for being an athlete.”
“My leg is doing just as well as the other one. That’s the only thing I’m worried about.”
Most importantly, Bosa said, he feels as quick as he did in 2020 recovering from his injury.
“I feel some similarities to that year, for sure — a little thinner, lower-body-wise,” he said. “And I’m moving very well. So we’ll see if that manifests itself on the field.”
