Niners Edge Nick Bosa got his first full practice in Wednesday since the right ACL tear that ended his 2025 season in Week 3. He then traveled with the team to Australia for next Wednesday's season opener against the Rams and says he hopes to play in it. But there's reason for IDP managers to maintain some skepticism.
What They're Saying: Recovery Hasn't Been Easy
ESPN's Nick Wagoner: "Bosa's recovery from the knee injury hasn't been linear. He was far enough along in his rehab that he didn't need to start the preseason on the physically unable to perform list and was doing individual drills on the side during the opening days of training camp in July. But Bosa had a setback that the team originally described as soreness and then later added that he was dealing with knee tendinitis."
Bosa: "It was a long road. There's some stuff I dealt with, with that patella tendon, and then I kind of ramped it a little too fast with the football stuff a month ago or whatever it was. And that kind of told me to back off. I've just been trying to get it as strong and myself as confident as I can to where I could rip the Band-Aid off and go to team stuff today."
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Big Talent ... and Big Risk
A healthy Bosa ranks among the league's best pass rushers, and this isn't his first return from an ACL tear.
Bosa tore the other one early in 2020. He returned to play all 17 games the following season and finished with 15.5 sacks, still the second-highest tally of his career.
But Bosa's now heading into his age-29 campaign rather than age-23. And his camp setback seems likely to encourage some early-season caution.
Part-time duty for Bosa can still give the 49ers an impactful player, but any limitation on his snap count would hurt his fantasy outlook. Even at full participation, Bosa has been merely a decent tackle producer, averaging 2.26 solos per game for his career.
His pass-rush production can also often be hidden from the traditional stats that drive scoring in most IDP leagues. Since he entered the league in 2019, Bosa sits tied for third among all players in QB hits (despite losing nearly all of those two seasons to ACL tears). He ranks just eighth in sacks, though.
That's obviously not a huge difference, but combine that with:
- the more modest tackle production (32nd among D-linemen in total tackles since entering the league)
- the chance that San Francisco limits his playing time early
- and the chance that Bosa simply doesn't return at his usual performance level
... and you get the Niners star checking in significantly lower in our IDP rankings than where the market has him going.
Bosa's a fine shot to take if he slides well into DL2 territory, especially if your league scores QB hits and/or pressures. But I'm more likely to let someone else have him in my drafts.
