San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa is known for his explosive playing style on the field and his laid back demeanor off the field.
The "Smaller Bear" prefers to lead by example, and when he does speak up, he often shares soft-spoken jokes as seen in his Mic'd Up video.
Bosa joined former teammate Richard Sherman on "The Richard Sherman Podcast" for his first-ever podcast appearance outside of the 49ers Podcast Network.
On the podcast, Bosa discussed San Francisco's 2022 season, imagined what it would be like to play with his brother Joey Bosa and shared his rehab story from his ACL injury from 2020.
Sherman was in his eighth NFL season when the 49ers drafted Bosa in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and saw first-hand how the defensive lineman earned the AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Sherman has now gone on to become an on-air talent and analyst and Bosa has grown to become a team captain and earned the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
The two reflected on their early days in San Francisco and joked about Bosa's mild-mannered presence on the team. The defensive lineman spoke about how his growth as a player has manifested into becoming a leader in the locker room.
Sherman: "I've known you since you weren't saying anything. You were a leader by example your rookie year, you were just killing it, a monster."
Bosa: "Have I really changed, though?"
Sherman: "That's what I'm trying to figure out, because they're saying you're giving speeches before the games now."
Bosa: "... I mean, when you have a C on your chest, you've got to speak up a little bit. When you're a guy who people kind of look up to, it's hard for you to realize that you're in that position because you still feel like a young guy when there's so many established players on your team. But, you kind of realize as more years go by and more rookie classes come in, people actually want to hear from you. They want to know what you do, how you go about your business, and it's cool to kind of be the leader here."
Sherman: "Of course they want to hear from you. You're one of the best on the team. You've led by example for a long time, and I just think it's really cool how you guys have grown together, you guys have grown up. You're talking about established guys – you are an established guy. It doesn't get more established than you. Now you've got the hardware, you've been to the big games, you've played in the big games and you played well in the big games."
Check out Bosa and Sherman's full episode here.
