Trent Williams has seen enough of Nick Bosa up close to make a pretty strong call: the 49ers left tackle says the pass rusher looks like himself again.
Williams, who shares drills and walkthroughs with Bosa even though they never line up together on Sundays, said he has had a front-row view of Bosa’s recovery. In comments to reporters shared in a video clip posted by Ari Meirov on Sunday, Williams said, “I see him every day," he said.
"I couldn't even tell he had an injury or came back from anything. ... Most people, you can see something. ...
Bosa looks better than he did before he got hurt last year. ... It's a testament to his character.”
Williams isn’t a doctor, but at 38 he’s been around long enough to know what a real comeback from an ACL tear can look like. His assessment carries weight, especially with Bosa’s last in-game action coming on Sept. 21.
That’s welcome news for a 49ers team that has spent much of the last year battling injuries. San Francisco’s latest challenge even reached head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was involved in a car accident weeks before training camp and was hospitalized with multiple broken bones. The team said Shanahan won’t be able to handle all of the coaching duties as he recovers.
Chris Forester, Williams’ offensive line coach, will step in as needed. General manager John Lynch described how that arrangement will work in a Sunday post from NBC Sports Bay Area.
"Chris is the acting head coach, but it is going to be very much a collective effort," Lynch said. "So, yeah, he’s going to be out front. ...
I'll address our team first, I'll hand it over to Chris. We'll probably do less team meetings, because Kyle usually sits up here and talks football for 30 minutes.
We're not going to try to replicate that."
With Forester taking on more responsibility, the 49ers’ daily routine will look different for now. And for a team trying to steady itself, Bosa’s health is one of the few clear positives in the picture.
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