SANTA CLARA — Javon Hargrave heard the yells coming from down the hall outside the 49ers’ locker room at Levi’s Stadium.
Then, he saw 49ers teammate Fred Warner loudly expressing his joy during the team’s lunch break Wednesday afternoon following their walk-through on the practice field.
And that is how Hargrave knew Nick Bosa and the 49ers agreed to terms on a new contract extension to pave the way for his return to the team.
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“I assumed that’s what he was yelling about,” Hargrave said of Warner. “Everybody seemed very excited.”
Hargrave will soon have a better understanding of exactly why everyone around the 49ers was so thrilled Bosa is back at the team’s practice facility on Thursday.
Practice time together will be limited, as the 49ers open the regular season in just three days against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hargrave was the 49ers’ big free-agent acquisition, as the 49ers signed him to a four-year, $84 million contract. He registered a career-best 11 sacks last season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
San Francisco 49ers
He has yet to step on the field with Bosa, who ended his 44-day holdout when he agreed to a five-year, $170 million contract extension. Bosa led the NFL with 18.5 sacks and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Hargrave and Bosa will get plenty of opportunities in the near future to feed off each other and team up to create chaos for opposing offenses.
But for a while, their chemistry will be a work in progress.
“I think it’s just the snaps on the field,” Hargrave said about working with Bosa. “You learn each other by the reps you take. It’s just getting reps together, and it’s going to be OK.”
The two men were around each other in June during the 49ers’ mandatory minicamp. But Bosa did not take part in any on-field activities.
Hargrave, who enters his eighth NFL season, and Bosa can definitely learn a lot from each other. Hargrave said he looks forward to having those kinds of conversations with Bosa.
“I haven’t yet, but I’m sure we will a lot now,” he said.