The 49ers on Friday made a couple of moves official.
They announced the five-year contract extension for defensive end Nick Bosa, and in a corresponding move released defensive end Austin Bryant.
That means there’s a little bit of a shakeup in the 49ers’ defensive end depth chart heading into a Week 1 matchup against the Steelers.
In a world where Bosa did not sign his deal and was not on hand for the season opener, Bryant likely would’ve played a lot since the DE group was thin and largely unproven.
Even with Bosa back in the building it’s a little surprising the team released a defensive end. Bosa didn’t get any full-speed practices in during the offseason so Sunday will be his first football since January. It would’ve made sense if the club wanted as much insurance there as possible for the opener, but the fact they released Bryant is an indicator they anticipate Bosa to play a lot and at a high level.
Here’s what the new DE depth chart should look like Sunday: