49ers star defensive end Nick Bosa is out for the season with a torn ACL

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco star defensive end Nick Bosa tore the ACL in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season.

Bosa hurt his knee in the first half of a win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and didn't return to the game. Bosa gave a thumbs-down to someone in the crowd after the injury, but initial tests did not show a torn ACL although coach Kyle Shanahan said Bosa feared that he had.

More tests were done Monday showing that Bosa had torn his ACL and his season was done.

“Obviously he’s bummed,” Shanahan said. “But Nick can handle anything and he’s going to handle it like he always does, which will be great. But obviously he was bummed out from it, not being able to finish out this year, especially how good of a year he was having so far.”

Shanahan said there was no damage to the meniscus or other ligaments, which bodes well for his rehabilitation.

“I was told to do it was clean as it gets,” Shanahan said. “If you have an ACL, I was told that it’s the kind that you want.”

This is the second time Bosa has gone down with a season-ending ACL tear early in the season. Bosa tore the ACL in his left knee in Week 2 of the 2020 season and missed the rest of that season.

That marked the only time in Bosa's first six seasons in the NFL that he didn't have at least nine sacks in a season; he's been one of the most productive edge rushers ever since being drafted second overall in 2019.

“You don’t just replace a guy like Nick,” Shanahan said. “Everyone’s got to keep continuing to get better at everything. Same thing I’d be preaching if we did have Nick too. When you lose your better players, it gets harder. ... Lots of guys obviously will have to step it up as it goes, but I believe that’ll be more by committee than any individual.”

Bosa has made the Pro Bowl in all five of his healthy seasons and won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022, when he lead the league with 18 1/2 sacks.

Bosa's 74 1/2 sacks in the regular season and playoffs are the fourth most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2019, and his 280 total pressures are the most in the NFL in that span, according to Sportradar.

The injury to Bosa is a significant blow to San Francisco's young but promising defense. The Niners had been relying on Bosa to solidify the defensive line that is counting on rookies Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins and C.J. West to make contributions.

With Bosa out, San Francisco's top options at defensive line are Williams, who has been playing both inside and outside so far this season, and veterans Bryce Huff and Yetur Gross-Matos.

“I feel like it was the whole group, like the whole D-line room said we’ve got to step it up because Bosa is a great player for us and he holds a heavy load,” Williams said after the game on Sunday. "So when we lose him, everybody has got to raise their game.”

San Francisco has overcome injuries to several stars to get off to a 3-0 start this season. Tight end George Kittle is on injured reserve after injuring his hamstring in Week 1, quarterback Brock Purdy missed the past two games with a toe injury, receiver Jauan Jennings missed Sunday's game with a shoulder and ankle injury and receiver Brandon Aiyuk is on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from surgery after tearing his ACL last October.

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