How Much Playing Time Will Nick Bosa Get When the 49ers Face the Steelers?

It will be a tossup as to how much playing time Nick Bosa will get when the 49ers face the Steelers.

Better late than never.

Nick Bosa and the 49ers finally came to an agreement on a contract extension on Wednesday. There is now no doubt that he will be active for the 49ers' Week 1 matchup with the Steelers. However, it will be a tossup as to how much playing time Bosa will get in that game.

Being away from the practice field for as long as he was raises questions with his workload. It's more about being able to physically handle it. Not that he is out of shape or anything, but there's a reason Kyle Shanahan played the starters a bit in the preseason finale. He used that as a warmup for his starters, and that's something Bosa hasn't received. Essentially, he'd be going 0-to-100 real quick, which can increase the risk of an injury. But that is something Bosa doesn't believe is an issue as he's ready to be locked in for his usual amount.

"I'm confident. I'm not sure what Kyle's plan is, but I'd be up for normal workload for sure. But I haven't talked to him yet." Bosa said.

So, how much playing time will Bosa get when the 49ers face the Steelers?

I'd suspect he is going to be on a pitch count. At the very least, that is going to be the case to start the game. Since Bosa didn't get a warmup preseason game and practices, the first quarter or so can be used as that for him. From there, the 49ers can decide whether to kick up his snaps. I think the 49ers' hands can be forced to play him heavily if the Steelers are leading or giving them serious fits.

“There always is," said Shanahan regarding concerns about Bosa for Week 1. "It's just more about stamina of the game and things like that. I go back to 2021, Bosa tore his ACL in ‘20, didn't get any training camp in ‘21. We activated him for practice I think that last week. So, he got a week of practice. And versus Detroit, he played I think like 60 plays, was able to stay healthy and do stuff like that. We had him in practice a little bit more. We got that last week and stuff, but at least we have some stuff to go off with him. "

Best case scenario is the 49ers start to build themselves a comfortable lead. That way they don't need to keep rolling Bosa out there. At that point, Week 1 will have been his warm up for the season. I just wonder if the 49ers can even afford that. The Steelers are no slouches. It's not going to be an easy outing for the 49ers by any means, especially since they're the visiting team. 

That's why I think Bosa will be integrated into the game slowly, then gradually leave him out on drives longer. Better that than to give him a full workload off the jump. It would be like running a marathon without stretching. Still, for all we know Bosa can handle this game easily without issues. But there's never anything wrong with taking the cautious approach with a player who the 49ers invested the most money in the franchise's history. 

"We got to be smart with him and everything, but we'll see how the game plays out.”