SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers are nearly a week into training camp and are still without defensive end Nick Bosa, but general manager John Lynch says he is «not at all» concerned about reaching an agreement with the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
«I don't like not having one of our best players here,» Lynch said Monday before the 49ers held their first fully padded session of training camp. «We've got a really good track record that I'm proud of as a group of having our players in, but I also understand it. And understand that we're going to have to exhibit some patience and understand that ultimately this thing will work out.»
Officially, Bosa is a holdout as he stays away from the team facility while awaiting completion of a lucrative contract extension that is expected to make him the highest-paid defender in league history.
Bosa is entering the fifth and final season of the rookie contract he signed in 2019. Last offseason, the Niners and Bosa agreed to wait another year before talking about an extension.
All Bosa did in the time that followed was post a league-leading 18.5 sacks to go with 51 tackles, two forced fumbles and 58 quarterback pressures (third in the NFL) on his way to winning his first DPOY and receiving his first All-Pro nod and third Pro Bowl berth.
That production put Bosa in line to meet or surpass the $31.67 million annual average defensive tackle Aaron Donald earns from the Los Angeles Rams and the $80 million in full guarantees edge rusher T.J. Watt got from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Asked about becoming the league's highest-paid defender after last season, Bosa demurred, saying he hadn't given it much thought and would «just see where it goes.»
Bosa, who prefers to
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