Nick Bosa Leaves Field with Knee Injury
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa will not return to Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals due to a knee injury suffered late in the first quarter.
During the play, Bosa was pressuring the Cardinals’ quarterback, Kyler Murray, from the left side and faced left tackle Kelvin Beachum when the Cardinals’ guard, Evan Brown, arrived to double-team.
Bosa’s knee appeared to bend awkwardly as he fell to the ground and Murray’s pass fell incomplete. Bosa slowly walked towards the sideline, where the Niners’ medical staff began attending to him as he lay on his back.
After a few moments, Bosa walked towards the blue medical tent, where he remained for about five minutes before exiting. He spent the next few minutes stretching and doing high knees, but eventually headed to the locker room.
Bosa was seen giving a thumbs-down gesture as he headed to the locker room. The team ruled out a possible return before the start of the third quarter, after Bosa was initially listed as questionable to return.
San Francisco has been hit hard again by injuries in the first few weeks of the season and was already playing on Sunday without tight end George Kittle (hamstring), quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) and receiver Jauan Jennings (shoulder, ankle), among others.
In the first two weeks, Bosa had stood out in key moments, with two sacks, eight pressures, 15 tackles, a pass rush win rate of 21.9% (15th among defensive ends) and a run stop win rate of 38%.
Bosa wasn’t the only defensive end for the Niners who left the field in the first half, as rookie Mykel Williams also headed to the locker room due to a wrist injury. However, Williams returned to the game just before the first half ended. Williams, Bryce Huff, Yetur Gross-Matos, and Sam Okuayinonu are the remaining defensive end options behind Bosa.
