How do the 49ers move on without Nick Bosa?

The San Francisco 49ers were given some crushing news on Monday, as defensive end Nick Bosa was ruled out for the season with a torn ACL, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed.

Bosa had seen an impressive start to the season, recording 10 pressures and a 20 percent win rate over the first few games before departing in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals. Overall, the 49ers’ pressure rates were significantly higher with the star.

Now, the 49ers must navigate life without Bosa, which puts a big dent in San Francisco’s hopes for the upcoming season. How do they move on?

“ You don’t just replace a guy like Nick,” Shanahan acknowledged on Monday. “Everyone’s got to continue to get better at everything. It’s the same thing I’d be preaching if we did have Nick too. When you lose your better players, it gets harder, but I also expect throughout this year all of our players to get better as it goes. That’s stressed even that much more when you lose a great one like Nick. Lots of guys obviously will have to step it up as it goes, but I believe that’ll be more by committee than any individual.”

“We needed guys to step it up to play along with Nick, and now that he’s out, you need them that much more. But I had definitely been happy with those guys. I think they’ve done better each week. I thought Mykel [Williams] had a really good game yesterday. I think [Bryce] Huff’s done some real good things, Sam O [Okuayinonu], all our edge players I think have been contributing and hopefully they continue to get better throughout this year.”

The 49ers were expected to rely on a number of younger players on defense this year. That was necessary for the team’s future, but that also meant San Francisco needed their elite players to play at a high level. Through three games, that was happening.

Bosa was playing at a high level. Fred Warner has looked better than ever. And Deommodore Lenoir has transitioned well into the No. 1 cornerback role. Now, with Bosa out for the year, do the 49ers look to replace him with another veteran?

“We’ll look at trades like we always do,” Shanahan said. “But, there’s got to be trade options that make sense for you and another team, but you can’t just do that stuff just to do it.”

It doesn’t make sense for the 49ers to spend significant capital on a replacement, especially given how Bosa and Williams are expected to be the team’s future on the edge. So, a player on an expiring contract or on a manageable contract makes the most sense if/when the 49ers look for a trade.

San Francisco could wait until near the trade deadline to make a move, waiting to see how they look at the midseason mark with their other pieces. But, assuming they remain in playoff contention, it feels like making a move would be likely for a veteran player.