Bosa Back at Practice, Eyes Week 1 Rams

Nick Bosa was back on the San Francisco 49ers practice field Wednesday for individual drills, said he is confident he will play Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia, and is traveling with the team on the long haul to Melbourne, per NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports. The pass rusher had been sidelined since Aug. 5 with tendinitis in his surgically repaired right knee.

That is the update 49ers fans needed before the wheels-up flight. Practice reps do not equal a full Week 1 snap count, but Bosa saying he is confident, then boarding the plane, is a different story than another week of side-field work while the roster flies without him.

From tendinitis caution to individual drills

Matt Maiocco reported that Bosa joined George Kittle, Mike Evans, and Kyle Juszczyk among the Wednesday returners in Santa Clara. Cornerback Renardo Green (hamstring from the Aug. 20 Chargers preseason game) was the projected starter still out, with Jack Jones next in line. Bosa tore his ACL in Week 3 last season, logged a sack in each of his first two games before that, and has been easing back after the knee got angry again in August.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first flagged that Bosa and Kittle would both make the Australia trip. General manager John Lynch had already said Bosa was ramping up with an eye toward the opener. Wednesday's practice, plus Bosa's own Week 1 confidence, turns that ramp into something concrete ahead of a 16-hour flight and a week of Melbourne acclimation.

Melbourne stakes

The 49ers are due in Melbourne Friday morning, with a short Saturday session before a normal practice week ahead of the Sept. 10 opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (8:35 p.m. ET / 5:35 p.m. PT Thursday). San Francisco's defense managed only 20 sacks last season without a healthy Bosa stretch. Getting him and Kittle on the same flight is how you open a division game against a Rams line that just brought Aaron Donald back into the mix.

For the tight end half of the Australia travel story already on Smacktok, see George Kittle trending toward playing. Bosa's version is the edge: drills Wednesday, confidence on the record, and a passport stamp before the Rams. Week 1 in Australia only works if the stars who practiced make the flight. Bosa checked both boxes on Wednesday, and the defense looks a lot less theoretical with No. 97 in the building Down Under.