Perennial 49ers Pro Bowler reveals why he might be better after injury

The San Francisco 49ers were ravaged by injuries last season, as they had several key players miss significant time throughout the campaign, including defensive end Nick Bosa, who missed most of the year with a torn ACL.

>Bosa looked great early in the season, recording 17 tackles, three quarterback hits, two sacks and two forced fumbles before suffering the third torn ACL of his life in the team's Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

>While this injury can be devastating, Bosa believes he'll be a better player in 2026 after the injury, partially because of a negative side effect from a previous ACL injury.

>“I had a little tendinitis from my high school ACL, and he cleaned that up while he [fixed] my ACL,” Bosa told the MMQB's Albert Breer. “That's gone. So it’s like an improvement. So once I'm through this rehab, I feel like my right knee—because that was kind of a chronic issue that I had a little bit, and he cleaned that up in my quad tendon and that hasn't been an issue at all—could feel better when I'm done with this recovery.”

>Not only will cleaning up the knee help Bosa move around better going forward, but he also mentioned another intriguing reason as to why he could be more successful in 2026.

>“You learn something every time you do it, every year really, injury or not, you kind of learn how to prepare a certain way to be at your best,” Bosa said. “When I came off of the one in 2020, it forced me to … I don't know how to explain it. Honestly, my legs get so big when I have years built up of training them. And it's not like I trained to bodybuild my legs. They get big. And I feel like, it's just an observation that I've made, coming off that injury in 2020, I was moving better with less mass on my legs.

>“This is a speed game, I'm a power rusher, but speed creates power, and the way you can move is everything. So I think there's something to, ‘I move better when my legs aren't quite as massive.’ I kind of have that feeling right now.”

>Bosa was on pace for a fantastic 2025 before the injury, and considering he's made five Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team, while also taking home the Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards, it's safe to say he's one of the best pass rushers in the league when healthy.

>If he's even better after this injury, that will be very scary for the rest of the league.

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>This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Perennial 49ers Pro Bowler reveals why he might be better after injury