Ryans: The only thing left for Bosa is to clear the mental hurdle of coming off an injury

Nick Bosa made his presence felt Wednesday in the first practice that he participated in team drills. The 49ers need Bosa to anchor the pass-rush unit to bring it back to the elite level, as we saw during 2019.

It would be great to see Bosa get a few live reps Sunday against the Raiders. Being in game shape and getting those mental routine reps matter.

DeMeco Ryans was asked: After two practices with Bosa out there in team reps, how does he look? How does he feel?

“Yeah, Bosa, he looked fine out there and I was happy to see him back out there, just get him into the flow of things. The biggest thing always coming off of an injury, is just the mental hurdle of taking a hit and hitting the ground and getting up and dusting yourself off and understanding that, ‘Oh, everything is still intact. I’m still okay.’ It’s back to football. So, I think he got a little bit of that yesterday with his first day back and again today. So, I see him just continuing to progress. But physically, I think he’s fine. It’ll just be the mental hurdle of getting over it. And I see him progressing really well in the area.”

Finishing up his injury recovery

Bosa is overcoming his third major injury since his senior year in high school. Fortunately, Bosa’s ACL tear happened early last season, allowing time for a full recovery. The thing is, it wasn’t just a simple ACL Tear.

Injuries are always challenging and can create a mental block. I’m sure Bosa has learned from Dee Ford, who was in high hopes for this season after being questioned about retiring. Being around someone who has been through setbacks ought to elevate Bosa’s spirits.

Again, he is there physically, but the practice reps matter. Getting actually to compete and win against the starters has to be uplifting. San Francisco easing Bosa in was the right thinking to build his confidence.

Bosa is back and better

The expectations of Bosa returning to his 2019 form are high. He continued his terror going into his second day of team drills. Bosa is the best pass-rusher on the team and one of the key elements together with Fred Warner in leading the front seven,

Ryans will need Bosa in action if he wants to take the ball away.

Jenifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports reported.

Later in team drills, Bosa stayed on the the field for three consecutive plays on three different occasions. In an additional series, he remained on the field for four straight snaps. The Ohio State product did not participate in red zone drills standing on the sidelines during the final minutes of practice.

Bosa was so good they didn’t need to see him in anything else. So maybe Bosa should just save his fresh legs for Week 1.

Outlook

General Manager John Lynch not only has to decide on who will replace Maurice Hurst? But he also has to figure out what edge players he will carry outside of Bosa, Ford, Samson Ebukam, and Arik Armstead. Will Arden Key be cut?

Bosa will headline the defensive line as expected. Should we modify our expectations for one of the 49ers' best players out of the gate, or are you expecting Bosa to hit the ground running?