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Nick WagonerSep 22, 2025, 02:30 PM ET
- Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN's coverage of the Niners' 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick's protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam's subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team's relocation and stadium saga.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers' worst fears were confirmed Monday when tests showed star defensive end Nick Bosa suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The tear is clean, but Bosa will still require season-ending surgery, sources told ESPN.
For Bosa, this is the second season-ending ACL injury of his career. He tore the ACL in his left knee in a Week 2 win against the New York Jets in 2020. He also had a partially torn right ACL when he was a senior in high school (2015).
Bosa left Sunday's 16-15 win against the Arizona Cardinals with about a minute left in the first quarter, went to the locker room and did not return. After the game, coach Kyle Shanahan said the initial test of the ACL on the sideline hadn't shown a tear but cautioned that Bosa and the team were still concerned about the possibility of a serious knee injury.
"There is concern because of how he feels," Shanahan said Sunday night. "They do the test and stuff on the sideline and usually they say whether he definitely did or not [injure his knee], and they didn't say that. But we are concerned with that. Keeping our fingers crossed for the MRI."
The results of that MRI on Monday showed Bosa's initial feelings were correct. On the play in which he was hurt, Bosa was rushing Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray from the left side and engaged with left tackle Kelvin Beachum when Cardinals guard Evan Brown came over for the double-team and knocked Bosa to the ground.
Bosa's right knee appeared to bend awkwardly as he went down and Murray's pass fell incomplete. Bosa walked slowly to the sideline, where the Niners' training staff began working on him as he laid on his back.
After a few moments, Bosa walked to the medical tent, where he remained for about five minutes before emerging. He spent the next couple of minutes doing some stretching and high knees but eventually made his way to the tunnel. The television broadcast spotted Bosa giving a thumbs down to family members in the stands as he ambled to the locker room.
Bosa had two sacks, eight pressures, 15 tackles and a 21.9% pass rush win rate in the first two weeks before Sunday's injury.
Without him, a Niners defense that already featured eight new Week 1 starters from 2024 to 2025 will be even more dependent on young players and new additions.
Rookie Mykel Williams, Bryce Huff, Yetur Gross-Matos and Sam Okuayinonu are the remaining defensive ends on the roster, with Robert Beal Jr. and Trevis Gipson on the practice squad.
Left tackle Trent Williams, one of Bosa's close friends on the team, said replacing him will take an all-hands-on-deck approach.
"Anytime you lose a guy like Nick and his status is unknown, it's a real buzz kill," Williams said Sunday. "It is cliché to say the next man up, but when you lose a guy like that, you need three or four guys to come to fill those shoes. I think we've got the depth and we got the youth, so hopefully they can continue to improve."
