SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Nick Bosa’s lengthy contract holdout ended four days before the start of the season for the San Francisco 49ers when he agreed to a contract extension that will make him the NFL’s richest defensive player ever.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that the two sides agreed to the contract and that Bosa is on his way to the team facility. Now Shanahan is glad he can stop thinking about what it would be like for the Niners to open their season without their best defensive player.

ESPN first reported the extension and said it was worth $170 million over five seasons with $122.5 million guaranteed. The average annual payout of $34 million tops the previous mark of $31.7 million for Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and the guarantees top the $102 million Bosa’s older brother, Joey, got from the Chargers in 2020.

Shanahan said Bosa would have to show up with a “beer belly” and “be out of shape” not to play the season opener at Pittsburgh on Sunday but added that’s “not in Bosa’s DNA.”

How much he is able to play after spending all of training camp working out on his own remains to be seen.

“We’ll see when he gets here,” Shanahan said. “I know Nick will come in shape. I know he’ll be good. … We’ll be smart with it and that will be based on these next two practices.”

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RAMS: Los Angeles receiver Cooper Kupp and backup quarterback Stetson Bennett will miss the season opener in Seattle on Sunday because of injuries.

Coach Sean McVay said the Rams are considering whether to put Kupp on injured reserve for at least four weeks. The Super Bowl 56 MVP injured his hamstring during training camp in early August, and he had a setback last week. Kupp, who turned 30 in June, went to Minnesota over the weekend to see a specialist about his injury, which isn’t responding typically to treatment. McVay ruled out his top receiver after meeting with him Wednesday morning.

Bennett has a right shoulder injury that will delay his potential NFL debut, McVay said.

CHIEFS: Travis Kelce was held out of Wednesday’s final workout and listed as questionable for Thursday night’s season opener against Detroit, one day after the All-Pro tight end hyperextended his knee in practice.

CARL NASSIB, the first active NFL player to come out as gay during his career, has retired from the league. The edge defender, who spent seven seasons in the league and recorded 25.5 sacks, said he plans to step away from football to devote more attention to his positivity-and philanthropy-based social media platform.

Nassib revealed publicly that he was gay in 2021 during his stint with the Raiders. At the time, he released a video and made an accompanying $100,000 contribution to the LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization, the Trevor Project.

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PANTHERS: Two-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Brian Burns returned to practice on Wednesday amid stalled talks on a contract extension, although his status for Sunday’s Week 1 game at Atlanta remains uncertain.

SAINTS: New Orleans rookie reserve quarterback Jake Haener has been suspended for the first six games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers, a league spokesman said.

BROWNS: Top cornerback Denzel Ward went through stretching and individual drills during the portion of practice open to reporters Wednesday, taking a small but significant step as he recovers from a concussion that could keep him out of the season opener on Sunday against Cincinnati.

RAIDERS: Defensive end Chandler Jones was not at the Las Vegas facility on Wednesday, a day after he posted, then deleted social media posts critical of Raiders management, and his status for Sunday’s season opener at Denver is in question.


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