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Joey Bosa

Joey Bosa To Undergo Surgery, Headed To IR

October 2nd, 2022 at 8:50am CST by Sam Robinson

OCTOBER 2: Bosa, who sustained a groin tear, is expected to miss eight to 10 weeks, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes. Schefter adds that Bosa is not likely to return to his elite level of performance this season.

SEPTEMBER 28: After Brandon Staley expressed concern about Joey Bosa‘s groin injury, an IR trip appeared in play. The Chargers are taking that route with their perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher.

Bosa is heading to IR, per Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com (on Twitter). While this will knock the seventh-year defender out for at least four games, a longer absence is likely in store. Bosa will undergo core muscle surgery in Philadelphia, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Chargers do expect him back later this season, with Mike Garafolo of NFL.com suggesting a possible two-month timetable (Twitter link). But this will be a difficult setback for the team’s retooled defense.

The Bolts’ $27MM-per-year sack artist left the team’s Week 3 game early. Left tackle Rashawn Slater joined Bosa in doing so. Slater is expected to miss the rest of the season with a biceps tear. Backup wide receiver Jalen Guyton also sustained a torn ACL during the Chargers’ loss to the Jaguars. These maladies occurred during a game in which Pro Bowlers Corey Linsley, Keenan Allen and J.C. Jackson missed due to injury. Justin Herbert, of course, played through a rib cartilage fracture he suffered in Week 2.

This is a familiar development for the Chargers, who have dealt with extensive injury trouble in several recent seasons. It comes at a critical point on the franchise’s timeline. Herbert is eligible for an extension in January, making the 2022 season perhaps his last on a rookie deal. Given where the quarterback market went this year, a deal that surpasses $50MM on average should be expected. The Chargers aggressively bolstered their roster this offseason, devoting considerable resources — at Staley’s request — to upgrading their defense. Bosa being out undercuts that effort.

The Chargers acquired Khalil Mack to team with Bosa and form one of the top edge-rushing duos in recent memory. Mack has returned from the foot injury that ended his 2021 season early, but he will have to go it alone for a bit. For Bosa, this represents another even-year setback. Bosa, 27, missed four games as a rookie in 2016 (hamstring), was shut down for nine during the 2018 season (foot) and missed four more contests in 2020 (two concussions). Still, Bosa has received four Pro Bowl invites and has four double-digit sack seasons.

Herbert, Mack and Co. will need to steady this suddenly rocky season during Bosa’s absence. Allen, Jackson and Linsley are not on IR and should be expected back soon. Though, Bosa and Slater’s absences make Los Angeles’ lineup less formidable.

Second-year rusher Chris Rumph, a fourth-round pick, was Bosa’s primary replacement against the Jags. The Chargers also have the option of using hybrid linebacker Kyle Van Noy in more of a rushing role. The Patriots often went to this well. Van Noy totaled 21.5 sacks with New England and tallied 17.5 with the Pats and Dolphins from 2019-21.

Chargers’ Joey Bosa Likely To Miss Time

September 26th, 2022 at 4:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Continuing what has been a rough Monday for the Chargers, Brandon Staley confirmed Joey Bosa is battling a significant groin injury.

The second-year Bolts HC has not determined if the perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher will need to go on IR, but it looks likely he will miss time after leaving Sunday’s blowout loss early. The Bosa news follows the report of Rashawn Slater‘s biceps tear, an issue that is expected to sideline the Pro Bowl left tackle for the season.

Bosa played just 13 defensive snaps against the Jaguars. While injury trouble has not hounded Bosa every year, he has run into several maladies that have required absences over the course of his career. The four-time Pro Bowler missed four games as a rookie in 2016 (hamstring), was shut down for nine during the 2018 season (foot) and missed four more contests in 2020 (two concussions). This run of even-year injury trouble comes at a bad time for a Chargers team that reloaded on defense around Justin Herbert‘s rookie contract this offseason.

Los Angeles traded for Khalil Mack as part of that effort, letting Uchenna Nwosu defect to Seattle in free agency. The Bolts signed longtime Patriots hybrid linebacker Kyle Van Noy in free agency but used Chris Rumph as Bosa’s primary replacement Sunday. A 2021 fourth-round pick out of Duke, Rumph notched one sack in 16 games behind Bosa and Nwosu last season.

Staley confirmed the team believes Slater suffered a biceps injury and added wide receiver Jalen Guyton sustained a torn ACL. The backup wide receiver also will miss the rest of the season. The Chargers, who played without Keenan Allen for a second straight week, have Josh Palmer and DeAndre Carter in place as options alongside Mike Williams. But the injuries are piling up for the oft-injury-prone team. In addition to Herbert’s rib cartilage fracture, the Bolts were without Pro Bowlers Corey Linsley and J.C. Jackson against the Jaguars.

Largest 2022 Cap Hits: Defense

July 5th, 2022 at 11:26am CST by Sam Robinson

After looking at this year’s top salary cap numbers on the offensive side of the ball, here is a rundown of the players counting the most toward their teams’ payrolls in 2022.

As could be expected, the salary figures here start below the quarterbacks. A few pass rushers, however, are tied to notable cap hits. Those numbers that check in within the top 20 leaguewide regardless of position. With the exception of true nose tackles and pure slot cornerbacks, every defensive position is represented here.

Here are the top cap figures on the defensive side for the ’22 season:

  1. T.J. Watt, OLB (Steelers): $31.12MM
  2. Chris Jones, DT (Chiefs): $29.42MM
  3. Joey Bosa, OLB (Chargers): $28.25MM
  4. Leonard Williams, DL (Giants): $27.3MM
  5. Aaron Donald, DT (Rams): $27MM
  6. Jalen Ramsey, CB (Rams): $23.2MM
  7. Deion Jones, LB (Falcons): $20.1MM
  8. Bud Dupree, OLB (Titans): $19.2MM
  9. Justin Simmons, S (Broncos): $18.85MM
  10. Javon Hargrave, DT (Eagles): $17.8MM
  11. C.J. Mosley, LB (Jets): $17.5MM
  12. Cameron Heyward, DL (Steelers): $17.42MM
  13. Robert Quinn, DE (Bears): $17.14MM
  14. Matt Judon, OLB (Patriots): $16.5MM
  15. DeForest Buckner, DT (Colts): $16MM
  16. Shaquill Griffin, CB (Jaguars): $16.44MM
  17. Tre’Davious White, CB (Bills): $16.4MM
  18. J.J. Watt, DL (Cardinals): $15.9MM
  19. Marcus Peters, CB (Ravens): $15.5MM
  20. Carl Lawson, DE (Jets): $15.33MM
  21. Eddie Jackson, S (Bears): $15.1MM
  22. Lavonte David, LB (Buccaneers): $14.79MM
  23. Budda Baker, S (Cardinals): $14.78MM
  24. Romeo Okwara, DE (Lions): $14.5MM
  25. Trey Hendrickson, DE (Bengals): $14.49MM
  • Illustrating how much the cap has climbed over the past several seasons, T.J. Watt is tied to a number nearly twice that of J.J. Watt, who has been tied to $16.7MM-per-year (a defender-record number in 2014) and $14MM-AAV deals as a pro. Trailing his older brother in Defensive Player of the Year honors, T.J. is signed to an edge defender-record $28MM-per-year accord.
  • Jones’ four-year Chiefs deal vaults from an $8.5MM cap number in 2021 to the league’s second-highest defensive figure this year. The standout defensive tackle’s cap hit accompanies Patrick Mahomes‘ $35.79MM number, which is well north of his 2021 figure, on Kansas City’s new-look payroll.
  • After two franchise tags, Williams scored a monster extension in 2021. The well-paid Giants D-lineman’s cap number this year is way up from his 2021 number ($9.4MM).
  • The Rams redid Donald’s contract last month, adding no new years to the through-2024 pact. The all-world defender’s cap hit actually decreases in 2023, dropping to $26MM
  • It is not certain Deion Jones will be back with the Falcons, who have jettisoned other Super Bowl LI cornerstones from the roster since the current regime took over in 2021. But they would save just $1MM were they to release the seventh-year linebacker.
  • To date, this represents the high-water mark for Mosley cap hits on his Jets deal, which at the time (2019) began a sea change for off-ball linebacker contracts. Mosley’s cap hit, on a pact that runs through 2024 because of the linebacker opting out of the 2020 season, increased by $10MM from 2021-22.
  • Hargrave is one of five Eagles pass rushers signed to veteran contracts. The ex-Steeler’s 2021 deal accompanies Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, and Fletcher Cox‘s new agreement on Philadelphia’s defensive front. As cap hits do not reflect average salaries, Hargrave is the only member of this quartet tied to an eight-figure cap number in 2022.
  • Quinn has also been connected to a departure, with the 31-year-old pass rusher skipping minicamp after it became known he would like to be traded away from the rebuilding team. His cap hit tops the Bears’ payroll. The Bears would save $12.9MM by trading Quinn, should another team sign up for taking on his full 2022 base salary.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 12/29/21

December 29th, 2021 at 3:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Several key players returned to practice Wednesday. Here are the latest COVID-19 updates from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Activated from practice squad/COVID-19 list: WR Rico Bussey

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL COVID List Updates: 12/20/21

December 20th, 2021 at 10:23pm CST by Ben Levine

A long list of players were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. We listed the players who landed on the list today, as well as those who were activated off the list:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DE John Franklin-Myers, DB Sharrod Neasman

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Chargers Place Joey Bosa, Austin Ekeler On COVID-19 List

December 20th, 2021 at 12:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers will be forced to place edge rusher Joey Bosa, center Corey Linsley, and running back Austin Ekeler on the COVID-19 list (Twitter link via Daniel Popper of The Athletic). The Bolts will likely add more players to that list later today, which may leave them at less than full strength for Sunday’s game against the Texans. 

Bosa was reported to be unvaccinated earlier this year. So, unless he has received the vaccine in recent weeks, he’ll still be subject to the league’s 2020 protocols and held out of this week’s game. Even under the revised rules, unvaccinated players who test positive must remain in quaratine for a minimum of ten days.

Bosa was briefly placed on the COVID-19 list back in November when he was ID’d as a high-risk close contact. But, after testing negative, he was cleared to face the Steelers in Week 11.

The 26-year-old is in the midst of another sensational season with 43 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and a league-leading six forced fumbles. Needless to say, he’s well on his way to a third straight Pro Bowl selection, which would give him four for his young career. The Chargers have Bosa under contract for years to come, thanks to the five-year, $135MM mega-deal he inked in 2020.

Unfortunately, the Chargers be without Bosa for at least a little while as they work to clinch a playoff berth. At 8-6, the Bolts have a 75% chance of. making the cut, per Five Thirty Eight, plus an outside chance of catching the Chiefs for the divisional crown.

Chargers Move Joey Bosa Off COVID-19 List

November 20th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

SATURDAY: This short Bosa saga does not look like it will result in him missing any time. The Chargers activated him off the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. However, Tillery will miss Week 11’s Steelers tilt, as he remains on the Bolts’ COVID list. Los Angeles also moved linebacker Drue Tranquill from the virus list to the active roster.

WEDNESDAY: Bosa still has a chance to play Sunday. The standout pass rusher did not test positive for the virus but qualifies as a high-risk close contact, Brandon Staley said (via NFL.com’s Taylor Bisciotti, on Twitter). This means Bosa is unvaccinated. He must be away from the team for a five-day period. But since Bosa did not test positive, he would be eligible to return Sunday night and play without practicing this week.

TUESDAY: The Chargers may well be without their best pass rusher Sunday night. Joey Bosa is now on the Bolts’ reserve/COVID-19 list, with Field Yates of ESPN.com adding (via Twitter) defensive tackle Jerry Tillery joins Bosa in that regard.

Unless Bosa is unvaccinated and qualifies as a high-risk close contact, which would allow for a return after five days, he faces an uphill battle to play against the Steelers in Week 11. Although vaccinated players who test positive can return with negative tests two days apart, returning to play in the same week of a positive test has not been a common occurrence this season. If unvaccinated, Bosa testing positive would sideline him for at least 10 days.

Having battled injury issues in the past, Bosa has not missed any time this season. The highly paid edge defender leads the Chargers with 5.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits. Tillery’s 2.5 sacks from his defensive line spot is second among Chargers this season. The former first-round pick has been a starter for the past two seasons.

Bosa and Tillery join Minkah Fitzpatrick in having landed on the COVID list this week. Ben Roethlisberger is also uncertain to play in Week 11, having experienced symptoms after testing positive for the coronavirus Saturday. Mike Tomlin has said Big Ben would play if cleared, regardless of his practice time this week, but it is not certain the 18th-year quarterback will be cleared in time. As such, Sunday night’s game could be missing a few star players due to the virus.

Chargers Sign Joey Bosa To Five-Year, $135MM Deal

July 29th, 2020 at 8:46am CST by Zachary Links

It’s officially official. On Tuesday night, the Chargers announced their brand new deal with Joey Bosa to keep him under contract for the next six seasons. The five-year add-on will pay the defensive end $135MM, including $78MM guaranteed at signing and $102MM in overall guarantees, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 

Bosa’s deal is an absolute record smasher. His full guarantees and overall guarantees are the highest of any defensive player in NFL history. On the whole, it’s the largest contract the Chargers have ever given to a player in the history of their franchise. Before the Bosa extension, no Chargers player had reached $100MM.

It’s even more of a jaw-dropper when considering the current economic climate and the possibility of a sharply reduced cap in 2021. Still, as GM Tom Telesco has pointed out, the Chargers have more flexibility for next year’s books than most teams. The deal is an outlier for this offseason, but not an anomaly. Just a couple weeks ago, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett signed five-year, $125MM deal with $100MM in total guarantees.

Bosa’s deal has leapfrogged Garrett, Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack, and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald in every category. Previously, Mack was the financial kingpin of the defensive end group with Mack $23.5MM per year, followed by DeMarcus Lawrence of the Cowboys ($21MM/year) and Frank Clark of the Chiefs ($20.8MM/year).

In his first two pro seasons, Bosa racked up a combined 23 sacks and 111 tackles. In 2019, Bosa missed the bulk of the season with a bone bruise, but still managed 5.5 sacks and 23 tackles in seven games. Last year, he turned in a complete 16-game season, and he met every lofty expectation – 11.5 sacks, 67 stops, and a forced fumble en route to his second career Pro Bowl nod.

Extra Points: Packers, Jets, Chargers, Lions

May 26th, 2019 at 8:35pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Packers have a huge season ahead of them. After an outstanding run of success, things got stale in Green Bay under Mike McCarthy, which resulted in his firing. The team desperately needs a boost of energy, and they’re hoping they found it in new coach Matt LaFleur. The 39-year-old is apparently wasting no time taking charge in his first offseason at the helm, as Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette writes that the young coach is “taking on an enormous load” during OTAs. Dougherty says that LaFleur is hovering around the quarterbacks and coaching them up at every opportunity, which he describes as a notable departure from McCarthy, who left that up to his quarterbacks coach.

LaFleur is apparently sitting in on all the quarterbacks meetings, and Aaron Rodgers importantly is happy with the way he’s being coached up. Dougherty writes that Rodgers “appears to be embracing” LaFleur’s hands-on approach. That’s surely music to the ears of Packers fans, but Dougherty does caution that there’s some level of concern about everything he’s putting on his own plate and how much his devotion to the quarterbacks “will take away from LaFleur’s panoramic view of the team once camp and the season start.” That being said, a reinvigorated Rodgers is by far the most important thing to the team right now, so it certainly doesn’t sound like a bad thing.

Here’s more from around the league on a quiet holiday weekend:

  • The Jets have had a drama-filled offseason, to say the least. Immediately after Mike Maccagnan was fired, reports began trickling out that Adam Gase didn’t want either of the Jets’ pricey free agent acquisitions, running back Le’Veon Bell and linebacker C.J. Mosley. While the reports that Gase didn’t want the team to sign Bell have more or less been confirmed, it’s apparently not true that he didn’t want Mosley, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Cimini writes that Gase “was a strong proponent of signing Mosley,” and notes that Gase and Mosley even share the same agent, Jimmy Sexton. It sounds like the Jets have one less headache to worry about.
  • Chargers pass-rusher Joey Bosa has been a star ever since he entered the league. As a rookie he had 10.5 sacks despite missing the first four games of the season due to a contract holdout, and he’s been dominant off the edge ever since. But the Ohio State product was hobbled by a foot injury that cost him the nine games of last season, and he wasn’t quite the same after he returned. Speaking to the media recently after practice, Bosa conceded that the injury is still bothering him. “It’s just there. It’s just something I notice. It’s been getting better all offseason, so I could definitely see by camp or maybe even next year where it kind of starts fading away,” Bosa said, per Adam Maya of NFL.com. Foot injuries can be tricky, so it’s somewhat alarming that Bosa is still feeling soreness in his foot after this long, but Maya notes he did say it’s feeling “well enough for him to avoid a Lisfranc-type surgery.” This will be a situation to monitor this offseason.
  • Rookie tight ends often don’t play much right away. Tight end is widely regarded as the position that’s hardest to transition to from college to the pros, other than quarterback, and many take time to develop even if they’re drafted highly. It sounds like Lions rookie T.J. Hockenson could be an exception to that rule. Hockenson has looked good during OTAs, according to Tim Twentyman of the team’s official site, who notes that Detroit isn’t going to treat him with kid gloves, writing Hockenson will “see the field early and often.” The Lions got virtually nothing from their tight ends last season so they made it a priority to upgrade this offseason, signing Jesse James and drafting Hockenson eighth overall. It sounds like Hockenson is in line to start in his first season.

Chargers Exercise Joey Bosa’s Option

April 23rd, 2019 at 8:26am CST by Zachary Links

This is the definition of a no-brainer. The Chargers have exercised the fifth-year option on defensive end Joey Bosa, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

[RELATED: 2020 Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]

In his first two NFL seasons, Bosa racked up a combined 23 sacks and 111 tackles. Last year, Bosa missed the bulk of the season with a bone bruise, but still managed 5.5 sacks and 23 tackles in seven games.

It took a while for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 draft to put pen to paper, but he has blossomed into one of the league’s most terrifying edge rushers. He also serves as the signal caller of the Bolts’ defense. Simply put, Bosa is indispensable.

In 2020, Bosa will earn $14.360MM. After that, the Chargers will have to give Bosa a long-term deal at the top of the market or use the pricey franchise tag to stall. The Bolts, in theory, could use three consecutive franchise tags on Bosa, but it seems unlikely that he’d cooperate with a second tag and, even if he were willing to go with the flow, a third tag would be wildly expensive (assuming the tag system remains in place under the next collective bargaining agreement).

Speaking of the Bosa family, it sounds like Nick Bosa is a real possibility for the Cardinals at No. 1 overall. Even if Arizona passes on Bosa with the top choice, it’s unlikely that he’ll last long on Thursday.

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