SANTA CLARA -- For the first time since 2019, star defensive end Nick Bosa was on hand for the 49ers' voluntary workouts.
And it was a welcomed sight for his coaches and teammates.
“I love Nick being around, love him getting a chance to do football with the guys and stuff ... I'm glad he is here the first week and hopefully it'll continue," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Tuesday after the team's second organized team activities (OTA) workouts.
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“I mean, it's sweet. You could tell it means something to him," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "To show up phase three, practicing on the field, it's pretty special. For all of us to see that, it's like, ‘All right, if Bosa is taking it serious, then we all should.’
"But regardless, being out in the field, giving our guys looks, the offensive line looks, for myself, pocket movement, all that kind of stuff, it's huge. And like I said, you can't get enough reps of it. But for him to be back in the building around the guys, it means a lot. And so, it makes all of us excited to start rolling for the season.”
Bosa was asked why he decided to attend and shared that he came to the decision after a recent conversation with Shanahan, who thought it would be a good idea for him to participate. Bosa agreed and felt it would be a nice change of pace in the middle of his intense offseason workout program back home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"I just talked to Kyle and he kind of asked me," Bosa revealed. "He kind of stated how he felt about why it would be good for me to be here and asked if I agreed, and I 100 percent did agree. So it's not like I'm missing too much. Out here it's a little less workload than I'm doing back home, so it's kind of a good active recovery for me and I'm putting football work in specifically, so that's good. It's not compromising my training at all."
San Francisco 49ers
Despite his consistency on the field, Bosa's offseasons since entering the NFL in 2019 have been anything but. Between the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 to his recovery from a torn ACL in 2021 to a contract holdout last summer, the former Defensive Player of the Year wants to experience a normal offseason.
"I think it's just good to get around the new guys, we have a lot of new faces this year," Bosa added. "Just kind of helping the new guys out. I don't think there's really been much of a normal offseason for me in terms of -- we had COVID, we had my injury and the contract situation -- so it's kind of a new year. I want to be around, it's good to be around."
Bosa feels healthy and refreshed and is ready to begin a normal ramp-up to what will be his sixth NFL season.
"I feel really good. I think it's been one of my better offseasons in just ... it's been a long year, so I took it nice and slow to get back into it," Bosa explained. "I'm not as young as I once was, so just taking it a little slower. Everything's great, I'm feeling as good as I've felt.
"I'm excited to actually get some practice in. Last year was kind of tough getting thrown in Week 1 after the walkthrough. That was another reason I'm excited to be here, just to get practicing a little bit. In-season practice is one thing, but actually being able to work your stuff and not have a game coming up is good."
He and the 49ers hope it goes a long way toward helping the team get over the hump and finally accomplish its longstanding goal of hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.