49ers Kicker Woes Intensify; Insider Says Bosa May Miss Steelers Game

Star defensive end Nick Bosa is apparently seriously in danger of missing the San Francisco 49ers season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback Trey Lance is on the move, and the Niners might be having a late-camp issue at kicker.

Bosa is still holding out for a new contract and has not yet reported for the 49ers, who wrapped up their preseason on Friday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said in an interview on KNBR on Friday that Bosa might legitimately not play in the opener.

“Will be miss a game? I don’t know,” Rapoport said. “But I will say this. I would say, if it’s possible for anyone to miss a game, Nick Bosa would be in the conversation. That family, as principled as they are, I could see it.”

Bosa is under contract for the 2023 season, and would begin to miss out on salary if he misses games. But Rapoport said there does not seem to be an urgency to the proceedings, just over two weeks out from the opener.

“There has to be a willingness to do a deal and it doesn’t sound like the conversation is very active,” he said. “I think Nick Bosa knows what he wants. I think he knows his value. He is incredibly — I would use the word stubborn, but that’s negative. It’s not negative. He just knows what he values himself as and that’s what he thinks he should get. Until the 49ers get there, I’m not sure how much discretion there will be.”

Bosa is not the only concern for the 49ers, as they’re dealing with multiple injuries at the kicker position. Rookie third-round Jake Moody, who missed two fields in the first San Francisco preseason game and an extra point in the second, has a right quadriceps injury. He was held out of the preseason finale on Friday and is listed as day-to-day.

The other kicker on the San Fran roster, Zane Gonzales, was ruled out with a calf injury during the game, leaving the 49ers without a healthy kicker 15 days out from the season opener.

The one problem that the 49ers have cleared up is the future of former first-round pick Trey Lance. Informed that he would be the third-string quarterback to start the season earlier this week, the 49ers instead traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-round pick, after trading several picks to get him back in 2021.

“We took a shot and it didn’t work out,” general manager John Lynch said. “We own that. We take accountability for it.”

Sam Darnold will back up Brock Purdy when the 49ers travel to Pittsburgh to start the season on Sept. 10.