The San Francisco 49ers will keep star defensive end Nick Bosa off injured reserve after he strained a calf muscle in practice this week, a decision that leaves the five-time Pro Bowler eligible to return as soon as he is healthy.
Bosa will miss Sunday’s Week 3 home game against the Arizona Cardinals and is expected to sit for a few weeks. The 49ers chose not to use an IR designation that would have required him to miss at least four games.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the roster call Saturday.
“49ers have decided not to place DE Nick Bosa on injured reserve, per league source. Bosa pulled his calf muscle at Thursday’s practice and now is expected to miss few weeks – but avoid IR.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday that Bosa was hurt while warming up before Thursday’s walkthrough. He is expected to miss “a few weeks,” Shanahan said.
The timing is awkward. Bosa returned this season from a torn ACL suffered last year against Arizona and had played the first two games on a managed snap count. He has seven tackles and no sacks through two weeks while taking about 63 percent of defensive snaps.
San Francisco is 2-0 heading into the NFC West matchup at Levi’s Stadium. The Cardinals are 1-1. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. PDT.
The 49ers already have been hit hard along the defensive line. Six of the 10 linemen who made the opening 53-man roster have been injured in the first two weeks.
“Losing Bosa was rough yesterday. Losing 6 out of the 10 defensive linemen in the last 2 weeks that had made our team is a little unusual. I don’t think I’ve been a part of that, so that has been different,” Shanahan told reporters Friday.
Second-year tackle Alfred Collins tore a patellar tendon in Australia and is done for the season. Sam Okuayinonu is on injured reserve with a foot injury. Rookie James Thompson Jr. has a high ankle sprain and Romello Height broke his hand in the Week 2 win over Miami. C.J. West was placed on IR this week with a bone chip in his knee.
To fill the gaps, San Francisco promoted defensive end Viliami Fehoko Jr. to the 53-man roster Saturday. The Bay Area product is listed at 6-foot-4 and 267 pounds. The team also elevated defensive tackles Kevin Givens and Sebastian Valdez from the practice squad.
Those three are expected to be available Sunday. The remaining healthy ends include Keion White, Ogbo Okoronkwo and Khalid Kareem. The interior group now features Osa Odighizuwa, Gracen Halton, Naquan Jones, Givens and Valdez.
The 49ers also brought in four veteran defensive linemen for workouts Saturday: Matt Judon, Dawuane Smoot, Jamin Davis and Julian Okwara. None had been signed as of Saturday afternoon.
Bosa, a former Defensive Player of the Year, has 64.5 career sacks in 87 games. He has made five Pro Bowls. Keeping him off IR preserves one of the team’s limited return-from-IR activations later in the season.
Shanahan said the front office had to weigh several players who sit near the four-game IR threshold. League rules allow only eight activations from injured reserve during the regular season.
Without Bosa, the pass rush will lean on White and the remaining edge pieces against a Cardinals offense that has shown it can move the ball. San Francisco still has its core skill players on offense, including running back Christian McCaffrey, who practiced fully later in the week.
The 49ers will try to stay unbeaten while their best pass rusher heals. Bosa’s next chance to play would come after the current homestand if the recovery stays on the short end of the projected timeline.
