Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Nick Bosa Injury Update – Top 3 Replacements after the 49ers DE Nick Bosa Suffered a Season Ending Injury!

The 49ers received the worst possible news as Nick Bosa set to miss remainder of the season

Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Within the first three weeks of the 2025-26 NFL season, San Francisco 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa became the latest casualty to injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the worst while giving the Nick Bosa injury update at his press conference, stating that the former defensive player of the year’s season has come to an end after suffering an ACL tear in the win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The 49ers are currently dealing with multiple injuries to key starters. While wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is still not fully healthy from his ACL injury last season and is missing the action, tight end George Kittle and quarterback Brock Purdy are also missing games. However, replacing Bosa is the biggest challenge of all for this 49ers defense.

Tests today showed that 49ers Pro Bowl DE Nick Bosa suffered a season-ending torn ACL during Sunday’s win over Arizona, sources tell ESPN. It’s a clean tear, but Bosa now will need season-ending surgery. pic.twitter.com/f6xdHY0iVS
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 22, 2025

Top 3 Replacement Options for the 49ers following Bosa’s Injury

Shanahan also went on record to state that replacing a player like Bosa does not happen, and what they need to do now is to lift the quality of the defensive line as a whole, not through any individual. That said, here are a few options the AFC West team can look at should they decide to bring in a replacement this season.

Trey Hendrickson – Cincinnati Bengals

All those who followed football in the offseason will be well and truly aware of the Cincinnati Bengals’ current makeshift situation with Trey Hendrickson. Last season’s NFL sack leader spent all of the offseason trying to rework an extension, but to no avail.

The Bengals and Hendrickson agreed to increase his salary for the year, but he is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Even though Cincinnati is 2-1 currently, with Joe Burrow out for the season, it is looking like an uphill battle to make it to the postseason. So, the Bengals could look at trading Hendrickson and getting some value in return rather than letting him walk at the end of the season.

With Nick Bosa out for the season, the 49ers could be a possible suitor for Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson.

The Bengals, who are currently 2-1 and without Joe Burrow, could choose to acquire draft capital for Hendrickson now as opposed to losing him for nothing in free agency. pic.twitter.com/D1NtP9zklO
— Football Forever (@fballforeverhq) September 22, 2025

Kayvon Thibodeaux – New York Giants

New York Giants’ edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux could also be another worthy option to consider. The Giants are currently 0-3 and all hopes of salvaging this season are nearly over. Moreover, they already have quality on the defensive line with Brian Burns and Abdul Carter, so trading Thibodeaux for draft capital would not be a bad idea.

The 49ers would get two years to see how things work out with the 24-year-old, and if they don’t like what they see, they can move on from him at the end of the 2026-27 season.

Jaelan Phillips – Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are in the exact same position as the Giants. They have already faltered to a 0-3 start to the season with no immediate improvement in sight. As such, the Dolphins could be ready to part ways with their 2021 first-round pick, Jaelan Phillips, who is in the last year of his contract.

Phillips’ last couple of years have been hampered by injuries, but he was one of the better players in his first two seasons in the league. Phillips registered 15.5 sacks from 35 games and 20 starts in those two years. Currently, he is healthy and could become a key contributor for the 49ers.

Whether or not the 49ers actually look for options will depend on the value and type of player they could get. San Francisco doesn’t really need a player for the long term, as Bosa should be ready for the start of the next season. But if they can find a veteran who can help win now, that would be their main objective.

Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Jaelen Phillips

Kayvon Thibodeaux

NFL

Nick Bosa

Nick Bosa injury upate

San Francisco 49ers

Trey Hendrickson

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!