Chargers' Impasse With Joey Bosa Persists
Joey Bosa‘s relationship with the Chargers did not include much of a honeymoon, with the sides still at an impasse over offset language and the structure of the No. 3 overall pick’s signing bonus. While some have sided with Bosa given the Chargers’ 21st-century history in dealing with draft picks, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Bosa should be in camp by now. The Bolts make their preseason debut today.
The Chargers will play their second preseason game on Friday, and Bosa stands to miss at least that tilt as well at this juncture. We heard recently the relationship between Bosa and the Bolts could have endured “irreparable damage,” which is something the Chargers have experienced recently with Eric Weddle, but Acee points to several instances where rookies held out well into the preseason only to re-sign with the Chargers. LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers are among those, although both of the franchise icons’ delayed debuts came during an era where those were commonplace.
- The Chargers’ latest pitch to voters regarding their downtown stadium measure is that fans of other teams will be paying for the $1.8 billion stadium/convention center project as opposed to Bolts backers. Their latest ad campaign states the stadium will be paid for by “Raiders, Broncos and Patriots fans,” as Brett Schrotenboer of USA Today points out. This is based around the stadium finance plan regarding the use of public money — which will be voted upon Nov. 8 — using a hotel tax hike. Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts voices over the piece, which is aimed at continuing to raise support for a ballot measure that, as of now, needs a two-thirds majority to pass this fall. Most experts deem that unlikely.
Joey Bosa‘s relationship with the Chargers did not include much of a honeymoon, with the sides still at an impasse over offset language and the structure of the No. 3 overall pick’s signing bonus. While some have sided with Bosa given the Chargers’ 21st-century history in dealing with draft picks, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Bosa should be in camp by now. The Bolts make their preseason debut today.
Using the negotiations between Antonio Gates and the Chargers in 2005 and ’10 — both of which involved meetings with then-GM A.J. Smith to close the deals — Acee argues the onus is now on Bosa to make a decision on the team’s offer, which has reportedly been unchanged since training camp began.
The Chargers will play their second preseason game on Friday, and Bosa stands to miss at least that tilt as well at this juncture. We heard recently the relationship between Bosa and the Bolts could have endured “irreparable damage,” which is something the Chargers have experienced recently with Eric Weddle, but Acee points to several instances where rookies held out well into the preseason only to re-sign with the Chargers. LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers are among those, although both of the franchise icons’ delayed debuts came during an era where those were commonplace.
Relationship Damaged Between Bosa, Bolts?
As the Chargers and Joey Bosa continue to slug it out, it appears that things are getting exceedingly ugly between the two sides. Now, Bosa feels that irreparable damage has been done to his relationship with the team, a source close to the player tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). 
The Chargers have not called Bosa’s camp back in nearly two weeks after his reps gave the team a proposal and Bosa feels personally disrespected by that. Furthermore, Bosa feels that public statements made by teammates such as Antonio Gates are part of a calculated effort to get the Ohio State product to report. Bosa finds those types of characterizations from some of his teammates to be “unfair” and not representative of the relationship he hopes to ultimately have with them.
When the two sides were at a stalemate in July, many assumed that the two sides would ultimately get a deal done after some wrangling. At this stage, it’s fair to wonder if Bosa’s contract impasse could drag into the regular season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Chargers Won't Budge In Battle With Joey Bosa
Although Joey Bosa‘s camp has reportedly made the latest offer in his contract battle with the Chargers, Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB doesn’t expect the team to blink in the two sides’ stare down. Instead, given that the third overall pick has no leverage, the Bolts will wait him out. The deadline for the Chargers to trade the lone holdout from this year’s rookie class passed Tuesday, so the ex-Ohio State star will either have to sign with San Diego or skip this season and reenter the draft next spring. If Bosa doesn’t sign by the Tuesday after Week 10, he won’t be eligible to play this year. The 21-year-old and the Chargers are locked in a dispute over signing bonus distribution and offset language in a potential contract.
Chargers’ Stevie Johnson To Miss Season
After undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus on Tuesday, Stevie Johnson learned he will miss the season due to the allotted recovery time, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The surgery was successful, per Rapoport (via Twitter), but the Chargers will lose a key weapon re
gardless.
San Diego’s top slot receiver, Johnson injured his right knee on July 31 but will now face a much longer timeline to return to the field. The 30-year-old target was set to play the second season of a three-year, $10.5MM deal he signed in 2015.
The Chargers signed James Jones last week to help compensate for the loss of Johnson, who started eight games for the Bolts last season. However, Johnson only played in 10 contests for the Chargers in ’15, missing extensive time due to a groin injury.
The former Bills and 49ers pass-catcher enjoyed a productive start to the season, hauling in 45 receptions for 497 yards and three touchdowns in his abbreviated slate. Those numbers topped his work in 13 contests with the 49ers in 2014. Johnson was set to join Keenan Allen and Travis Benjamin among San Diego’s starters.
The 6-foot-2 Johnson is on the Chargers’ books for $4.5MM next season but could be jettisoned on a $1MM dead-money charge and save the Chargers $3.5MM.
Johnson recorded three straight 1,000-plus-yard seasons from 2010-12 but hasn’t been able to recapture that form, partially due to injuries. He missed at least three games from 2013-15 and was among several key Chargers offensive talents to go down last season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ball In Chargers' Court In Joey Bosa Impasse
Chargers’ Deadline To Trade Joey Bosa Passes
As first explained by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk last week, the Chargers had until 30 days prior to the start of the regular season to trade No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa. That date has come and gone, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, and Bosa still remains the property of San Diego. The Chargers, Schefter adds, “never considered” dealing away the rights to Bosa.
[RELATED: Offseason In Review — San Diego Chargers]
The contract stalemate between San Diego and Bosa is centered around offset language and payout structure, as Bosa and his camp want the entirety of his ~$17MM signing bonus to be paid in 2016. San Diego, meanwhile, prefers to pay a “significant portion” of the bonus next March. The Chargers’ offer to Bosa is reportedly similar in nature to the deal agreed to between the Cowboys and fourth overall pick Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott will receive roughly 61% of his signing bonus during this calendar year, so using the same structure, San Diego wants to delay the payout of about $6.6MM of Bosa’s signing bonus until next March.
It’s important to keep Bosa’s family in mind, as Alex Marvez of The Sporting News pointed out yesterday, since the defensive end comes from a wealthy household and doesn’t have any pressure to immediately collect on an NFL contract. In theory, Bosa could survive a year-long holdout in order to re-enter the draft pool next year. Of course, after a year away from football, it’s unlikely that he would go No. 3 or higher in the 2017 draft. Bosa will be ineligible to play this season if he doesn’t sign by the Tuesday after Week 10.
Meanwhile, Bosa’s mother took to Facebook over the weekend with some interesting comments. “It bums me out for him so much,” she wrote. “Wish we pulled an Eli Manning on draft day.” Manning, of course, forced his way out of San Diego after being selected with the top pick in the 2004 draft.
Photo courtesy of Pro Football Rumors on Instagram.
Chargers Notes: Bosa, Graves
Since the first full year of the new CBA, no rookie has remained unsigned at a later date than Chargers first-round choice Joey Bosa, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. On Monday, Bosa shot past Justin Blackmon, who held out from Jaguars camp until August 7, 2012. Bosa, the No. 3 overall pick, is still haggling with San Diego over offset language and the payment schedule of his signing bonus, and hasn’t spoken with Chargers’ management since July 28. Because he comes from a wealthy household, Bosa has no fiscal motive to give in during negotiations with the Bolts.
- The Seahawks worked out quarterback Brad Sorensen today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Sorensen, 28, has spent time with both the Chargers and Titans, but has never attempted an NFL pass. Seattle is still in the market for a veteran quarterback, but it’s not clear if Sorensen fits that definition, and as Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes, head coach Pete Carroll today praised undrafted free agent Trevone Boykin, who is competing to act as the club’s backup QB.
- After being fired as the Chargers‘ wide receivers coach earlier this year, Fred Graves is back with San Diego as a senior offensive assistant, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. Graves had been an NFL wideouts coach dating back to 2001.
Chargers Waive P Kasey Redfern
- The Chargers announced that they have signed wide receiver Rico Richardson and defensive tackle Zamir Carlis. To make room, they waived offensive lineman Mike McQueen and punter Kasey Redfern. With Redfern out of the way, it appears that Drew Kaser has won the team’s punting competition.
Latest On Joey Bosa, Chargers
The Chargers and first-round pick Joey Bosa haven’t had any contact since July 28th, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Bosa stands as the only unsigned rookie in this year’s class and few expected his contract wrangling with the Bolts to go on for this long.
As Schefter notes, Chargers greats Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Shawne Merriman also had prolonged contract negotiations with the team before ultimately signing their rookie deals. Of course, that was back when rookie contract holdouts were commonplace. Under the current CBA, rookie holdouts are much less frequent and even the trickiest ones seem to wrap up by the middle of the summer. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight for this stare-down between the Chargers and the Ohio State product.
Technically, the Chargers have until tomorrow to trade Bosa’s rights but one source with knowledge of the situation tells Mike Florio of PFT that it’s highly unlikely that any team retained enough rookie pool space to accommodate his contract.
Meanwhile, Bosa’s mother took to Facebook over the weekend with some interesting comments. “It bums me out for him so much,” she wrote. “Wish we pulled an Eli Manning on draft day.” Manning, of course, forced his way out of San Diego after being selected with the top pick in the 2004 draft.
It’s important to keep Bosa’s family in mind, Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets, since the defensive end comes from a wealthy household and doesn’t have any pressure to immediately collect on an NFL contract. In theory, Bosa could survive a year-long holdout in order to re-enter the draft pool next year. Of course, after a year away from football, it’s unlikely that he would go No. 3 or higher in the 2017 draft. Bosa will be ineligible to play this season if he doesn’t sign by the Tuesday after Week 10.
In order for Bosa to agree to offset language, agent Todd France reportedly wants the Chargers to pay the 21-year-old the entirety of his signing bonus (approximately $17MM) in 2016. San Diego, meanwhile, would rather wait until next March to dole out a “significant portion” of the bonus. At last check, the Chargers want to give Bosa roughly 61 percent of his signing bonus during this calendar year, which is the same payout schedule the Cowboys agreed to with fourth overall selection Ezekiel Elliott, who was Bosa’s teammate at Ohio State and went one pick after him.
Photo courtesy of PFR on Instagram.
Joey Bosa's Mom Wishes Player 'Pulled An Eli Manning'
- With the Chargers and rookie Joey Bosa still engaged in a stare down over the defensive end’s contract, the third-overall pick’s mother has taken to Facebook with some interesting comments. “It bums me out for him so much,” she wrote (via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union Tribune). “Wish we pulled an Eli Manning on draft day.” Manning, of course, forced his way out of San Diego after being selected with the top pick in the 2004 draft.
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