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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers are nearly a week into training camp and are still without defensive end Nick Bosa, but general manager John Lynch says he is “not at all” concerned about reaching an agreement with the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
“I don’t like not having one of our best players here,” Lynch said Monday before the 49ers held their first fully padded session of training camp. “We’ve got a really good track record that I’m proud of as a group of having our players in, but I also understand it. And understand that we’re going to have to exhibit some patience and understand that ultimately this thing will work out.”
Officially, Bosa is a holdout as he stays away from the team facility while awaiting completion of a lucrative contract extension that is expected to make him the highest-paid defender in league history.
Bosa is entering the fifth and final season of the rookie contract he signed in 2019. Last offseason, the Niners and Bosa agreed to wait another year before talking about an extension.
All Bosa did in the time that followed was post a league-leading 18.5 sacks to go with 51 tackles, two forced fumbles and 58 quarterback pressures (third in the NFL) on his way to winning his first DPOY and receiving his first All-Pro nod and third Pro Bowl berth.
That production put Bosa in line to meet or surpass the $31.67 million annual average defensive tackle Aaron Donald earns from the Los Angeles Rams and the $80 million in full guarantees edge rusher T.J. Watt got from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Asked about becoming the league’s highest-paid defender after last season, Bosa demurred, saying he hadn’t given it much thought and would “just see where it goes.”
Bosa, who prefers to train with his brother Joey at home in Florida in the offseason, did show up to San Francisco’s mandatory minicamp in June and struck an optimistic tone that something would get done just before training camp or right after it started. That was a blueprint followed by other Niners stars such as tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and wide receiver Deebo Samuel, all of whom signed big-money deals right around the start of camp.
That hasn’t happened yet for Bosa, who is subject to $40,000 per day fines for practices missed. But the league’s collective bargaining agreement allows first-round draft picks entering their fifth-year option to have their fines waived.
As a sign of good faith, that’s what the Niners intend to do, and Lynch indicated Monday that they don’t intend to use fines as a bargaining tool.
“I don’t think that’s really necessary,” Lynch said. “That’s not going to get him in here. We’re both striving for the same thing, so we’ll focus on that.”
For now, the Niners aren’t worried that Bosa, who has earned a reputation for coming into camp in great shape and rarely participates in preseason games, is missing too much valuable time in training camp. But even for someone who always takes care of himself, there is a point where they would like to get him back just so he can get into football shape.
“Nick is a specimen, and he’s a specimen because he was blessed with some really good genes, but he’s also a specimen because he works as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen in this game,” Lynch said. “His plan is meticulous. It’s adjusted each and every year. Having said that, I think there’s a point that everybody [needs to be back]. … I don’t know what that time period [is]. We’ve talked a lot about it internally, but I think that’s important to not only give yourself the best chance to not only play at the highest level but to stay healthy.”