Training camp is underway for every player on the San Francisco 49ers. Everyone — Brock Purdy included — except Nick Bosa.
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is in line for a historically large contract extension, expected to be in the range of $30 million per year. He will not be participating in camp — and may not arrive in Santa Clara — until a new deal is reached.
John Lynch told reporters on Tuesday that he has not seen Bosa at the facility and “would expect he’s not here to start off.”
The state of the negotiations between the 49ers and Bosa’s agents — led by WME’s Brian Ayrault — is that they are, well, happening.
Aside from saying that talks are underway and that the 49ers are “working diligently to try to come to an agreement,” Lynch intentionally said very little. He spoke of a desire between both sides to keep details private.
“We’re going to keep things private,” Lynch said. “I always appreciated that as a player. I feel like there’s some sanctity to those things. You don’t want everything being aired out. And so we’ve agreed with Brian and Nick to keep our dealings private. So I think that’s the extent of what I’ll say and when there’s updates we’ll give them to you.”
He cited the desire for privacy as something he valued during his Hall of Fame career.
While Bosa’s top-of-market value is obvious, Lynch said that can sometimes make reaching a deal harder.
“I think the challenge is we’re talking about a real special player, talking about one of the better players in the league,” Lynch said. “You could argue that can simplify things, but I think at times it’s just finding that sweet spot where the right spot is.”
Bosa could arrive at training camp before a deal is consummated, but even if he does, Kyle Shanahan said he doesn’t expect him to practice until talks conclude.
All that said, Bosa is as well-conditioned a player as they come. While Deebo Samuel said his contract talks created a distraction and he ultimately came into camp out of shape last season, Fred Warner indicated no one is worried about something similar happening with Bosa.
“If there was one guy I wasn’t worried about being in shape for training camp, I think it would be Nick Bosa,” Warner said.
For now, we wait until a deal — almost certainly in the hundreds of millions — is reached.
