The San Francisco 49ers‘ pass rush took a massive blow after Nick Bosa got sidelined for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL. Naturally, it raises a question: Will Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco team look to add reinforcements as the season wears on?

As things stand, the team’s exploring trade options to bolster their defensive line. And the general manager, John Lynch, just added another layer to it. Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday morning and addressed the obvious edge rusher needs.

“I’m having a lot of conversations, a lot of good and productive ones,” the GM said. “It is a premium position, so teams don’t like just letting those guys out the door when they’re good football players. So you have to identify the right guy that, number one, is going to help us.”

However, Lynch lowered the Niners’ faithful’s hopes a bit while adding, “I’ve been very clear: you’re not going to find a player that’s going to go replace Nick Bosa and be as effective as him. That’s really difficult to do.”

Bosa has been a dominant edge rusher for the Niners. Take this season, for instance. The San Francisco team has played two games with Bosa, two games without Bosa, and one game when the 27-year-old left the game early after suiting up. The difference, however, is obvious.

The Niners are 2-0 with Bosa, but just 1-1 without him. And the difference shows up in the numbers. With Bosa on the field, they racked up 27 pressures, three sacks, four QB hits, and 20 hurries in only two games. Without him? The drop-off is clear. We’re talking about just 18 pressures, one sack, one hit, and 16 hurries. The silver lining, though?

It’s Nick Bosa himself. In two games, he recorded nine pressures, with two sacks, two hits, and five hurries. That means the rest of the players around him are not putting up a bad outing. In a what-if world, if Bosa had played the past couple of games, chances are he’d have made up for the difference.

But it’s just his absence that’s bothering the Niners. Plus, no one’s able to step up in his absence either. So yes, replacing Bosa is tough for John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, sure. But they still have to bolster their defensive line.

Kyle Shanahan and Co. host tryouts to replace Nick Bosa

The 49ers head coach is in dire need to add depth to the team’s pass rush game. Sure, Mykel Williams looked good as the rookie defensive end recorded 7 solo tackles, 3 assisted tackles, and 10 combined tackles so far. And of course, Bryce Huff has been making his presence felt on the 49ers’ defensive line this season (13 tackles, three sacks, and even forced a fumble so far).

However, Sam Okuayinonu is struggling to create more pressure, Yetur Gross-Matos is now injured, and of course, Nick Bosa is already out for the rest of the season. Which is exactly why Kyle Shanahan and Co. hosted tryouts to address the obvious need at hand. The team tried out seven different defensive linemen ahead of the Week 6 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including the ex-Dallas Cowboys DT Tommy Akingbesote.

The Cowboys selected Akingbesote in the seventh round of the most recent draft but waived him on the roster cut-down days. Besides Akingbesote, the 49ers also tried out:

• DT Shakel Brown
• DT Michael Dwumfour
• Edge Jonathan Garvin
• DT Bruce Hector
• Edge Jah Joyner
• Edge DeMarcus Walker

While it’s still uncertain if the 49ers can truly replace Bosa, one thing is clear: the team is determined to add depth to its pass rush.

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