49ers coach Kyle Shanahan: Nick Bosa “making a lot of progress” in knee rehab

San Francisco enters the early stretch of its preseason window with a notable question mark on the defensive front. On Tuesday, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said defensive end Nick Bosa is “making a lot of progress” as he works through rehab for a surgically repaired right knee, though the team has not yet put him on the practice field.

Bosa has not practiced since Aug. 3, Shanahan said, with the issue described as soreness and tendinitis in that right knee. Shanahan did not offer a timetable for when Bosa might resume full participation, leaving his availability open-ended as the 49ers continue building toward the regular season.

For San Francisco, the stakes of an early-season defensive end absence are straightforward. Bosa is one of the team’s key pass-rush catalysts, a player whose snap-to-snap pressure can reshape opposing protection schemes. Even when a defensive line rotation is healthy, a difference-maker at one end can alter how often offenses lean away from a side, quicken the timing of throws, or commit extra help to contain edge pressure.

The way Shanahan framed the situation also suggests the 49ers are aiming for gradual, measured progress rather than a fast return. “Making a lot of progress” indicates that the rehab is moving forward, but soreness and tendinitis are conditions that often require careful load management. Without a timeline, it is difficult to predict whether Bosa’s next step will be limited practice, an eventual return to team work, or continued rest as the knee settles.

The absence matters beyond the individual player, because the defensive line rotation is a unit that typically benefits from consistency during training camp. Coaches use practice reps to tighten communication on stunts and edge assignments, identify which linemen fit different rush packages, and evaluate combinations. A prolonged offseason-to-camp gap for a player like Bosa can compress the window for those integrations, especially if others are also being eased back into work.

Bosa’s status also changes the calculus for how the 49ers plan their pass rush distribution. If one primary edge rusher is limited, the team may have to lean more heavily on interior pressure, secondary rushers, or different alignments to generate comparable pressure. That can work in the short term, but it can also highlight how specialized the team’s rush plan becomes when a star end is out of the mix.

What to watch next is straightforward: whether the 49ers announce any change to Bosa’s practice participation after the current downtime, and whether Shanahan provides further clarity on progression and timing. With no specific return date yet, the focus will remain on continued rehab progress and how quickly the team can translate that into full defensive reps.