Nick Bosa May Have Played Final Snap With 49ers

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nick Bosa May Have Played Final Snap With 49ers

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Sep 25, 2026 10:48 AM ET

The San Francisco 49ers are expected to be without star edge rusher Nick Bosa for most of, if not all of, the 2026 season. While the immediate focus is on what the 49ers can do about the injury right now, if Bosa does miss the entire season, there is a real chance he played his last down with the 49ers.

San Francisco 49ers staring down hard Nick Bosa decision

The 49ers are coming up on a massive decision in 2027. Bosa has a $54M cap hit in 2027. There is almost no chance he is playing on a cap hit so heavy, even if he did finish the year healthy.

If he played well and stayed healthy, the plan would have been for San Francisco to extend him and lower the hit. However, if he is going to be 30 years old and is coming off of two season-ending injuries in back-to-back years with five games played, the team might not have as much interest in working out a new long-term deal.

At the very least, they would not be offering Bosa anything near what he is making. So, he would have the decision of taking a pay cut to stay with the 49ers, or forcing the team to cut him.

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

San Francisco is not completely off the hook, though. They would owe $49.98M against the salary cap if they moved on from Bosa after the season. Still, that means a savings of $4.88M would immediately come.

The team would have to debate whether the $4.88M is worth not having their star edge rusher. If they are unsure of his health, recovery, and now age, the team might not be interested in keeping him.

They could also designate him as a post-June 1 release. That would give the team a $22.4M dead cap hit in 2027 and $27.53M dead cap hit in 2028.

So, it would save the 49ers $32.4M in 2027. It would drag the dead money from Bosa out into the 2028 season, but the $27M would be easier to swallow because the cap continues to increase.

This is likely the smartest option for the 49ers if they do not see much more from Bosa this year. At his peak, he was one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. However, he has not been healthy enough to live up to his contract extension.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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