49ers face roster shortage as Nick Bosa misses fifth straight game
Defensive end Nick Bosa will sit out his fifth consecutive game, and coach Kyle Shanahan said the team may not have enough healthy players to fill the 48-man roster for Sunday’s matchup in Atlanta.
San Francisco defensive end Nick Bosa suffered a calf strain during Thursday practice before Week 3 and has now missed five straight games, including Sunday’s contest against the Atlanta Falcons. The team has not placed him on injured reserve.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Bosa’s earlier comments about returning for Week 6 and Week 7 were overly optimistic. > "I just think he was a little too optimistic, especially for Bosa because he’s pretty accurate. He doesn’t say stuff like that unless it’s accurate. I just think it surprised him. He worked out, after he said that to you guys, and the next day he was just a little sore, which surprised all of us. That wasn’t a great sign, especially going to play on turf and stuff this week, so I think it was more he was just a little too optimistic," Shanahan told reporters.
Shanahan also acknowledged that the 49ers could enter the game with fewer than the usual 48 healthy players eligible to dress, a situation he said he has not encountered in his career. > "No, I don’t think so. I don’t think here. I don’t think ever in my career, so it’s a unique situation," he added.
The injury list includes several other players, adding to the challenge of fielding a full roster for the upcoming game.