star defensive end Nick Bosa pulled his calf in Thursday’s practice and is set to miss Sunday’s NFC West game against the Arizona Cardinals.
The five-time Pro Bowler will not play in Week 3 as the 49ers weigh whether to place him on injured reserve. An IR move would keep him out at least four games and use one of the club’s limited return designations.
Nick Bosa spent the offseason recovering from a torn in his right knee, an injury suffered last season in Week 3 against these same Cardinals. This Sunday would have been almost exactly a year later.
He returned for the start of 2026 and played 70 snaps across San Francisco’s first two games. On Wednesday, he was listed as a non-participant with the designation “resting player/knee.” On Thursday, the team added a calf injury. Bosa did not practice either day and did not speak with reporters.
Nick Bosa’s calf is the latest blow to a front that has been falling apart since camp. Defensive tackle CJ West (knee) went on injured reserve this week. Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu (foot) and tackle Alfred Collins (patellar tendon) are already on IR after practice injuries in the first two weeks. Rookie tackle James Thompson Jr has a high ankle sprain expected to cost him three to six weeks. Rookie edge rusher Romello Height has a broken hand and has not practiced this week; coach Kyle Shanahan said he has only an “outside” chance to play Sunday.
The roster squeeze is real. The 49ers can designate only eight players to return from injured reserve this season. Shanahan explained the problem on Wednesday, before Bosa’s calf became public.
“There’s a lot of variables there,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “That’s why it’s not simple just to put everybody on IR return because then eventually you’re not going to get one back. We’re going to run out of them eventually, so that’s what we’re trying to balance out, see how those guys are this week. … It’s complicated, and we’ve got to guess.”
A long list of injured wide receivers has made those guesses even harder.
The healthy defensive ends available Sunday are Keion White, Khalid Kareem and Ogbo Okoronkwo. Mykel Williams, another edge rusher, remains on the physically unable to perform list after last season’s torn ACL. He is expected to return to practice next week but cannot play until Week 5, when San Francisco visits the .
That is a thin rotation for a defense that already spent most of 2025 without Bosa. His absence will test whether the 49ers have enough depth to hold serve at home while they wait on a timeline and an IR decision.
Sunday at Levi’s Stadium is no longer a showcase for San Francisco’s rebuilt front. It is a test of how long the 2-0 start can survive without the player the pass rush is built around.
