SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers rookie defensive end Nick Bosa will miss “the next few weeks” as he deals with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, the team said Thursday.
That time frame likely means Bosa, whom the Niners drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in April, will not participate in the team’s remaining organized team activities. It could also keep him out of the mandatory full-squad minicamp that’s scheduled for June 11-13, which would be exactly three weeks from when Bosa suffered the injury.
Although Grade 1 is considered the mildest of hamstring strains, the 49ers don’t intend to rush Bosa back, which means the aim will be to have him at full strength when training camp opens in July.
Bosa suffered the injury about halfway through the 49ers’ second OTA on Tuesday. Bosa participated in the first OTA on Monday and did individual drills and two-on-two pass rush drills but shut it down for the day a couple of snaps into 11-on-11 work. He watched the rest of the practice from the sideline and was able to walk back to the locker room with a slight limp.
Immediately after Tuesday’s practice, coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged the hamstring injury but did not know the severity. Bosa’s participation in the offseason program comes on the heels of a final collegiate season at Ohio State in which he played in three games before suffering a core muscle injury on Sept. 15 against TCU.
That proved to be Bosa’s final college game as he declared for the draft and began preparation for it soon after. Upon arrival in the Bay Area, Bosa was cleared to participate in the team’s rookie minicamp on May 3 but he did not do team drills that weekend as the Niners eased him in.
Bosa joins an extensive list of Niners who aren’t taking part in OTAs because of injuries. That group includes starters or key contributors such as linebacker Fred Warner (knee), running back Matt Breida (pectoral), center Weston Richburg (knee, quadriceps), tight end Garrett Celek (concussion and back), running back Jerick McKinnon (ACL), linebacker Kwon Alexander (ACL) and cornerback Jason Verrett (Achilles). Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (ACL) is also working back from injury, though he’s participating in everything except team drills during OTAs.
The 49ers are expecting most of their injured players to be ready for the start of training camp.
“This is the most time I’ve had of people missing OTAs, but we’ve been really healthy the last two OTAs and it’s been the opposite at camp,” Shanahan said Tuesday. “Maybe it’ll be the opposite this year, we’re not healthy in OTAs, which is maybe a good sign for training camp. I know which one I’d rather have. We knew this going into this year. I mean, we knew we had, I think it’s 12 guys before this started that we knew wouldn’t be participating in OTAs. Then you’ve got your six new guys, too. Some things have come up, which is pretty normal, but when you stack that up, it is different with reps and things like that. Hopefully that’ll lead to a better training camp.”