Is Nick Bosa a Hall of Famer? How injuries have derailed the 49ers star’s chances of reaching Canton

Nick Bosa injury at the end of the season It is not only a hard blow for the 49ers – everything, but crushes all hope that it reaches the temple of fame. (For the record, I hope it motivates Bosa to make the improbable.)

Bosa has lived up to all batteries since the 49ers have selected it from Ohio State with the overall choice n ° 2 of the 2019 draft. The physical freak has terrorized the opposing quarters off the edge at the ranks of the first five in bags (64.5), pressures (424) and quarter-back tubes (168) since 2019.

It is how incredibly talented it is.

He was the defensive recruit of the year 2019 before tearing his LCA in the week 2 of 2020, which made him miss the last 14 games of the season. He rebounded with 15.5 bags in 2021 before leading the NFL with 18.5 bags in 2022 on the way to win the defensive player of the year.

Bosa has also produced consecutive pro Bowl campaigns in the past two seasons, combining 19.5 bags. The only rusher pass with a higher pressure rate than Bosa since 2019 is Micah Parsons. Thus, when the titans clash on the melee line, Bosa beats his man more often than almost anyone.

His bag of game of game during week 1 in Seahawks illustrated what makes him so great – an incredible brute force to push the right tackle in Sam Darnold have dislodged the ball.

It has always been among the five or 10 best defensive players in the NFL at its peak, which is the type of production necessary to enter the temple of professional football fame. He is up there with Myles Garrett, Parsons, TJ Watt and Maxx Crosby as the most dominant players off the edge in the past five years and more.

Bosa has currently been ninth among players since 1982 (when bags have become official statistics) in bags per game. He is tied with JJ Watt and behind some of the renowned temple on Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor and Demarcus Ware.

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Most of the bags per game in the history of the NFL (since the bags officially followed in 1982)

Bosa was on a renowned temple trajectory

There is no doubt, on a basis per game, that Bosa has a curriculum vitae of the renowned temple. His profile aligns a little favorably if you look at the first seven seasons of rushers of passes devoted to Canton, Ohio, in the past 30 years. This includes unofficial bag totals before 1982 which were followed by Pro Football Reference.

Average career of passers -by of the fame of fame during the first seven seasons (inducted in the past 30 years)

He is in the stadium of the same production of recent inducted enthusiasts such as Jared Allen, Julius Peppers, Dwight Freeney, Jason Taylor and Michael Strahan.

However, Bosa is starting to late in bag totals when it lacks critical matches in its peak this year.

How Bosa compared to recent passers -by of the renowned temple during the first seven seasons

Here is the bar for a rusher from Pass du Temple de la Renomie

You might think that it will become more difficult for Bosa to stay in the field and add to these figures. He missed 32 games during his first seven seasons, including the last last 2025.

He has torn his ACL three times now, going back to high school. He also missed three games last season with hip and oblique injuries.

This is where the problem lies. Bosa has experienced a strong beginning of a career – perhaps a caliber of the renowned temple, if you look at the average passers -by of the fame of fame for seven seasons.

But this group also had a long productive career in the thirties. They have an average of nearly 200 games and 133 bags in their careers. Currently, it is difficult to imagine that Bosa accumulates these kinds of figures. He is not even halfway through one or the other total.

Average career of passers -by of the fame of fame (inducted over the past 30 years)

Here are the figures he really has to hit. There are 14 retired players in the history of the NFL with at least seven selections Pro Bowl and 120 bags. Only one, Terrell Suggs, is not in the temple of fame, and it began its second year of eligibility in 2026.

While the injuries catch up with Joey Bosa, Nick’s older brother will be a case study to reach these figures. Joey had 58 bags in 79 games in his first six seasons. He has 15 bags in 31 games on more than three seasons and more, and he has on average less than 10 games played in the previous three years combined. If the production of Nick falls into freedom like that, he will have no shot in the temple of fame – similar to his brother. Their seven -seasons production is also almost identical.

Joey Bosa against Nick Bosa in the first seven seasons

Losing two privileged seasons really derail the chances of Bosa

In the end, it is difficult for a player to lose two seasons at his peak and make the temple of fame. Bosa missed 15 games in 2020 and will miss 14 this year.

It could be 20 or more bags and two pro Bowl selections of his total career. This is the margin between a great player, like the ones below, and the hall of Famers.

It is rare for a player to miss a lot of time in his peak and to recover for a career of all time.

Gale Sayers is the only temple of the fame of the Age of the Super Bowl to have several seasons where he played between one and four games in their twenties. Sayers was also one of the most dynamic game leaders in the history of the NFL and among the youngest in the fame of all time.

Other players have rebounded late departures to their careers after playing in other leagues to make the temple of renown, but it is also rare (Jim Kelly, Kurt Warner, Warren Moon, Sam Mills, etc.) and mainly involves quarter-rear.

Bosa is only 12.1 games per season in his career until 2025.

Only six players to do their debut since 1970 have made the temple of fame while having an average of 12 games or less per season in their twenties: Steve Young, Warner, Ken Stabler, Dan Fouts, Terrell Davis and John Riggins. Everyone on this list in addition to Foust has won a Super Bowl MVP or an NFL MVP. Four of them were quarters. Davis had a season of 2,000 yards, and Riggins had the fourth number of yards on the ground in the 1930s of a player in the history of the NFL.

Bosa is unlikely to rebound from these injuries and improve over time. Over the past 30 years, 22 passes in the renown temple, only four have on average more bags per game during their eighth or later (compared to their first seven seasons). These four are Strahan, Kevin Greene, Chris Doleman and Carl Eller. They did not have to overcome the problems of injury that Bosa owes.

You may also wonder if it has a bonus strong enough to justify a consideration at the temple of renown in itself. This would not be the case. The recent temple of fame to retire early all the Bosa has crushed with regard to the Pro Bowl selections and the first All-Pro team selections. Bosa was one of the best defenders in the League, but these players were probably the best in their position for almost a decade.

Temple of recent fame that retired early

Bosa has two ways to put the career back to the temple of fame on the right track

So, what will it take for Bosa to reverse the course and take a race in Canton? Well, as mentioned above, the average rusher of the fame of fame has been inducted over the past 30 years has recorded on average 133 bags and seven pro bowls. Fourteen retired players have at least seven pro bowls and 120 bags or more, and only suggests is not yet in the fame of fame (and it has only been eligible once).

Simplify it with two paths for Bosa to reach this production:

1. It can reproduce its current production for seven other seasons. It is on average 0.76 bags per game in seven seasons already. So, if he doubles his career production so far and adds some pro-bols, he will be at the seven pro-bols and 130 bags or more. It is rare that the rushers of the fame of fame correspond to their production as they age. It will be even more difficult for Bosa with its history of injuries. This path is roughly outside.
2. The other path is that it plays for about another decade and its production of bags falls to half a bag per game. Assuming that he continues to play a dozen games per season which would lead him to 120 bags or more. Sprinkle in two pro-bols and it is there. The problem is that a dozen games per season for a decade is also unlikely for Bosa at this rate.

Unfortunately for Bosa, his potential career at the renowned temple was probably derailed by two LCA tears from the end of the season to its peak. The story shows that it will be difficult for him to overcome him to run in a gold jacket while his contemporaries like Parsons, Garrett, Tj Watt and Crosby are better positioned to distant him.