Joey Bosa

Chargers’ Joey Bosa Expects To Return In Week 8

October 25th, 2024 at 9:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 2024 campaign has included another hurdle for Joey Bosa to clear on the injury front. The longtime Chargers edge rusher is set to return to action this week, though.

Bosa said on Friday (via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper) he is set to play in Week 8 against the Saints. The four-time Pro Bowler has been out of the fold since Week 3 while dealing with an injury affecting his sciatic nerve. As he prepares for a return to action, Bosa added he expects to be on a snap count during Sunday’s game. Still, having him available once more will be a welcomed sight for the Chargers.

The 29-year-old has struggled with injuries over the past three years, having made only 17 appearances since the start of the 2022 campaign. Bosa’s future was in question this past offseason based on the nature of his contract in addition to his missed time. Just like fellow starter Khalil Mack, however, he agreed to a pay cut and thus set himself up for another round of adjustments next year.

Bosa is under contract through 2025, but none of his $13MM salary for the year is guaranteed and his scheduled cap hit is more than $36MM. An extension lowering that figure could come into play if new general manager Joe Hortiz makes a renewed commitment to retaining him for 2025. Considering Bosa already has another list of missed games on his resume this season, though, he will likely need a productive and healthy showing the rest of the way for that to be the case. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year is aware of the impact of his continued injuries, something he also reflected on.

“The main thing is I feel like I’ve been letting my team down missing these games,” Bosa said (via Popper). “Letting everybody down. Letting the coaches down. Letting the organization down. Letting myself down. It just sucks how these years have (gone) the last few years.”

Bosa posted 10.5 sacks during his last full campaign, but he was limited to nine between the 2022 and ’23 seasons. So far this year, he has posted two sacks and four pressures, an indication he can still be impactful when on the field. The Bolts lead the league in scoring defense, but they have managed only 12 sacks on the year; Bosa will look to assist in that department beginning on Sunday.

Injury Notes: Bears, Walker, Murray, Bosa

September 11th, 2024 at 9:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears got good news surrounding the knee injury that knocked Rome Odunze out of Sunday’s season opener. Per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the rookie wide receiver suffered a Grade 1 knee sprain, the “best-case scenario” for the team and player.

Odunze suffered his MCL injury while blocking for Velus Jones Jr. during a fourth-quarter screen pass. The rookie stayed in the game for one additional play before exiting for good. The wideout is officially considered week-to-week, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and there’s been no indication that the ninth-overall pick will have a stay on injured reserve. Coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears were “lucky” to avoid a serious injury, and he even kept the door open to Odunze playing in Week 2.

Wednesday’s injury report also showed that fellow receiver Keenan Allen didn’t practice while nursing a heel injury. Eberflus later clarified that the wideout was considered day-to-day, and there’s hope the offseason acquisition can hit the practice field on Thursday and Friday following his day off.

In the unlikely event that both Odunze and Allen are sidelined, the Bears’ deep wide receiver grouping will be down to just D.J. Moore. Rookie QB Caleb Williams is certainly hoping for his full arsenal of wideouts following an NFL debut where he completed only 14 of 29 pass attempts for 93 yards.

More injury notes from around the NFL…

Kenneth Walker left Sunday’s game with an oblique injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday, per the Seahawks‘ injury report. Mike Macdonald said the running back is day-to-day (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson), but another missed practice would obviously put the player’s Week 2 availability in doubt. Walker exited the season opener after compiling 103 rushing yards and one touchdown. Zach Charbonnet finished the game at running back, scoring a 30-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Kyler Murray was a full participant at today’s practice, but the Cardinals QB still showed up on the injury report with a knee injury. Murray, of course, suffered an ACL injury during the 2022 campaign, and 2024 represented his first healthy offseason in a few years. Murray didn’t miss a snap on Sunday, and it seemed like his knee was in good shape after he ran for 57 yards. Clayton Tune is the only other QB currently on the active roster.
The Chargers announced that Joey Bosa was a limited participant at Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a back injury. The pass rusher appeared in 60 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in Week 1, collecting a sack and a forced fumble along the way. The long-time Charger has been snake bitten by injuries over the past few years, missing 20 total games.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport passes along a list of other notable players who didn’t practice on Wednesday, including Bengals receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring), Chiefs receiver Marquise Brown (shoulder), Browns tight end David Njoku (ankle), Packers quarterback Jordan Love (MCL), and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hip/hamstring).

NFL Active Leaders In Career Earnings

July 13th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Kirk Cousins‘ four-year, $180MM deal with the Falcons this season vaulted him up the list of active career earners. This was by virtue of his $50MM signing bonus, adding to the more than $231MM he earned from the Commanders and (mostly) the Vikings throughout his career. Even under the worst-case scenario, Cousins will still see at least another $50MM come his way via his contract with Atlanta, which would push his career earnings north of $331MM.

While the soon-to-be 36-year-old Cousins will surely see a significant portion of the $80MM worth of unguaranteed money on his contract, he’ll still be hard pressed to catch Aaron Rodgers on the career-earnings list. Rodgers earned more than $306MM during his long tenure in Green Bay, and he’s already made close to $37MM during his one season in New York (mostly via the $35MM signing bonus on his reworked pact).

With at least $40MM of additional guarantees coming his way from the Jets, Rodgers will continue to grow his lead as the highest-earning NFL player of all time. Both Rodgers and Matthew Stafford were able to leap Tom Brady among the NFL’s highest all-time earners over the past year.

With all that said, we’ve listed the 25 active players who have earned the most money in their NFL careers (h/t to OverTheCap.com). While this list is up to date, it doesn’t account for soon-to-realized salaries for the 2024 campaign. This list is also solely focused on NFL cash and does not include off-the-field earnings:

QB Aaron Rodgers: $343MM
QB Matthew Stafford: $328MM
QB Russell Wilson: $305MM
QB Kirk Cousins: $281MM
QB Jared Goff: $234MM
LB Von Miller: $179MM
QB Joe Flacco: $177MM
OT Trent Williams: $171MM
QB Derek Carr: $165MM
LB Khalil Mack: $162MM
QB Dak Prescott: $161MM
DL Aaron Donald: $157MM
QB Jimmy Garoppolo: $150MM
DE Calais Campbell: $143MM
QB Deshaun Watson: $142MM
QB Patrick Mahomes: $136MM
DE Joey Bosa: $134MM
DL Leonard Williams: $134MM
WR Mike Evans: $132MM
QB Carson Wentz: $130MM
WR DeAndre Hopkins: $128MM
WR Stefon Diggs: $126MM
DE Cameron Jordan: $126MM
OT Lane Johnson: $121MM
DT Chris Jones: $120MM

Chargers’ Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa Discuss Pay Cuts, Hopes For 2024 Season

June 16th, 2024 at 10:50pm CST by Rory Parks

As part of the cap-strapped Chargers’ efforts to bring themselves into cap compliance before the new league year opened in March, the club released wide receiver Mike Williams and traded fellow wideout Keenan Allen. Edge defenders Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack also profiled as trade candidates, though both ultimately remained with Los Angeles on reworked contracts.

Those new deals were originally reported as restructures, which often means that void years are being added and/or that a player’s base salary is being converted into a signing bonus in order to spread out their cap charge and create more cap space in the upcoming year. However, as Daniel Popper of The Athletic notes, Bosa and Mack actually accepted pay cuts, and both players cited the talent of the LA roster as a primary reason for their decision (subscription required).

Mack, who is entering his age-33 season but who has never won a playoff game, stated that the club’s hire of new head coach Jim Harbaugh also factored into his willingness to take a pay cut. Mack said of Harbaugh, “he’s like a simple dude. He’s not going to tell you what you want to hear. He kind of just kept it real and told me, ‘Well, if we’ve got this many guys on each side, we can win.’ And he’s like, ‘We have this number now, and we can work on building some certain guys up or bringing certain guys in.'”

While the Chargers had a disappointing 2023 campaign, Mack himself was terrific, posting a career-high 17 sacks. He is under club control through 2024, and although he will be 34 if/when he hits the open market next offseason, a similar showing this year could allow him to land another lucrative multiyear pact. He also believes that, despite the misfortune that seems to plague the Bolts, and despite the loss of several top offensive performers, the Harbaugh-led outfit is well-equipped to make a postseason run.

“I know these guys, man,” Mack said. “They got what it takes in this locker room, starting with the quarterback. And then you got my guys on defense. It’s just a lot of different intangibles that you look for when you want to have a running mate and teammates. So just understanding these guys and knowing their capabilities.”

Bosa, meanwhile, is about to turn 29 and therefore has more time than Mack to experience playoff success. When discussing his own pay cut, he said simply, “I want to win. I want to be on this team. I want another shot with the guys in this room, especially [Mack]. … Winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money.”

While Bosa certainly wants to enjoy a championship season with the team that drafted him and is under club control through 2025, he is not due any more guaranteed money after the 2024 season. Given that, and given that he was nearly on the chopping block this offseason, it is certainly possible that this will be his last year with the Chargers, as ESPN’s Kris Rhim notes.

Like the Watt brothers, Bosa and his little brother, 49ers star Nick Bosa, have discussed the possibility of playing together. If that were to happen at any point in the near future, it would be in San Francisco, as the younger Bosa is under contract with the Niners through 2028. Per Rhim, those conversations have never been serious, but it seems both players are open to the possibility.

“It’d be cool at some point,” Joey Bosa said. “I always thought of myself being somebody that will play [with the Chargers] and retire here, which I think not many people do on one team and I think would be a cool thing to accomplish, but you never know. I’m going to worry about this year first. … I think we have a great opportunity here, and who knows, maybe I’ll have a great year this year and then things can change down the road.”

Joey Bosa Restructures Chargers Contract

March 14th, 2024 at 1:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Chargers entered Wednesday needing to free up cap space ahead of the new league year. They did so by releasing Mike Williams, but edge rusher Khalil Mack remained in place via a restructure. Fellow defensive end Joey Bosa will take the latter route as well.

Bosa has agreed to a re-worked Chargers pact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. As a result, his 2024 cap figure will be lowered and he will remain in place for at least one more season. The former third overall pick was one of four players set to count more than $32MM against the cap in 2024, with a projected charge of $36.6MM. Converting the maximum amount allowable of Bosa’s $15MM base salary into a signing bonus would create $10.4MM in savings.

Given the team’s financial situation leading into free agency, it was widely expected the Chargers would cut or trade at least one member of the quartet set to occupy a major portion of their cap space (the three aforementioned players and wideout Keenan Allen). Mack and Bosa were reported as the ones Los Angeles was most likely to move on from, and the team spoke with potential suitors to gauge their markets. Any deal would not have come at market value, of course, given the contract an acquiring team would have taken on. New general manager Joe Hortiz has thus elected to run back the Mack-Bosa tandem in 2024.

The latter was due a $7MM roster bonus tomorrow, leading to urgency on Hortiz’s part to work out Bosa’s future despite the cap relief brought about by moving on from Williams and restructuring Mack. As The Athletic’s Daniel Popper reports, at least one team showed interest in trading for the four-time Pro Bowler before today’s move was worked out (subscription required). Rather than moving on with two years left on his contract, Los Angeles will keep him in place for a ninth season with the franchise.

Bosa has been limited to just 14 games over the past two seasons, so questions will be asked about his ability to remain healthy moving forward. The Ohio State alum has posted nine sacks in that span, after reaching double-digits four times in a season earlier in his career. At age 28, however, he should be able to continue playing at a high level with better luck on the injury front. The Chargers’ defense would benefit substantially if that were to be the case.

Los Angeles entered Thursday in worse cap shape than any other team in the NFL, per Over the Cap. That situation will change given today’s move with Bosa, but it will be interesting to see if another cost-clearing move is made with an Allen restructure. In any event, much more clarity has arrived for the team’s veteran nucleus compared to where things stood at the start of free agency.

Patriots Inquire About Chargers’ Trade Candidates; Latest On Bolts’ Plans

March 13th, 2024 at 10:45am CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers sit in their own space regarding cap room. As of Wednesday morning, only three teams are over the cap. But only the Bolts are more than $2MM over. Jim Harbaugh‘s team remains $25.2MM over the cap, and the deadline for cap compliance looms in less then five hours.

The team has not made a move involving the contracts of Joey Bosa, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams or Khalil Mack. These four pillars double as the Chargers’ top cap hits, with 2023 restructures creating big 2024 numbers. All four check in beyond the $32MM place, putting the Chargers in crunch time as they begin the Harbaugh era.

The team has until 3pm CT to move under the $255.4MM cap, creating one of the more interesting salary situations in years. As OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald points out, the Bolts have four of the top 12 cap hits in the NFL.

Conversations about trades have taken place, and the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed notes the Patriots have discussed at least some of these trade candidates with the Bolts. New England features needs at both receiver and edge defender, though the team has done some work on those fronts in free agency. Kendrick Bourne and Josh Uche are returning for the Pats, but neither player’s resume comes particularly close to any of the Bolts’ trade chips.

This Pats news comes as they are pursuing Calvin Ridley. The team has made an offer to the recent Jaguars 1,000-yard receiver. A Ridley pickup would seemingly move an Allen or Williams acquisition off the table. The Pats still have Matt Judon under contract, with Uche back as a sidekick — albeit one on the inconsistent side — for at least the 2024 season. If the Patriots were to acquire Bosa or Mack, the team would certainly not run out a Judon-Uche starting duo.

New England still holds more than $59MM in cap space, leaving the team capable of absorbing one of the Los Angeles contracts. The Bolts are widely expected to trade at least one of these contracts (possibly more) today, the Washington Post’s Mark Maske tweets. A trade or release transaction involving one of this foursome should be expected, ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes.

The Chargers’ cap situation will make teams less inclined to fork over major assets here, as the league knows the Bolts will have to cut a player or two if no trade can come to pass. That said, a team that does not like its chances of landing one of these players on the open market could be well served to make a trade, and the Bolts have been open to that for a bit now.

All four players are tied to deals at or north of $20MM per year. Allen, 31, has been with the Chargers since 2013. Bosa, 28, has spent eight seasons with the team. Both are among the top players at their respective positions. Mack, 33, qualifies for such a classification as well; he bounced back in a big way last season, totaling a career-high 17 sacks. Williams, 29, missed most of last season with an ACL tear. The former top-10 pick’s injury history will certainly limit his trade appeal. One season remains on Mack, Williams and Allen’s contracts; Bosa is signed through 2025.

Chargers Open To Trading OLBs Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack

March 10th, 2024 at 5:45pm CST by Ely Allen

MARCH 10: Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated confirms the Chargers have had “exploratory trade talks” concerning not only Bosa and Mack, but also both members of the Allen-Williams receiver tandem. Of those, Breer unsurprisingly notes Allen is the likeliest to stay, something which matches the veteran’s comments on his future. Still, a cost-shedding move of some kind could be coming soon on Los Angeles’ part.

MARCH 9: According to OverTheCap.com, the Chargers have the second-least amount of cap space in the NFL with only the Dolphins exceeding the salary cap by more than Los Angeles. They’re currently $21.14MM over the salary cap and are set to eat $27.31MM of dead money in 2024, also second-most in the NFL.

As a result, it appears the Chargers are exploring options to clear some cap space while potentially bringing in a bit of draft capital, as well. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the team is currently “open to trade offers for many veteran players including Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.”

Mack and Bosa currently make up the team’s largest two cap hits at $38.52MM and $36.61MM, respectively. Trading those two players alone, the team would be able to clear out $23.25MM (Mack) and $14.39MM (Bosa) of cap savings, though the team would be eating $15.27MM (Mack) and $22.22MM (Bosa) of dead money in the deals. The report from Russini also says “many veteran players,” though, and the next three biggest cap hits on the roster are veteran receivers Keenan Allen ($34.72MM) and Mike Williams ($32.46MM) and safety Derwin James ($19.86MM).

Would the Chargers really get rid of quarterback Justin Herbert‘s top two targets? Allen has been one of the league’s more consistent producers since 2017, as long as he stays on the field. Over that time, Allen has averaged around 75 yards per game and can usually deliver six to eight touchdowns. He’s missed 40 of a possible 179 career games, including 11 in the past two seasons, but despite four missed games in 2023, Allen averaged a career-high 95.6 yards per game and scored seven touchdowns at 31 years old.

Williams has also missed his fair share of games (27 of a possible 115), including 14 games missed with a torn ACL in 2023. When healthy, Williams has established himself as a strong WR2, twice surpassing 1,000 receiving yards and twice surpassing nine receiving touchdowns. Williams struggles to provide the same consistency as Allen but is still a strong contributor. If traded, Allen would provide $23.1MM of cap savings and result in $11.62MM of dead money, while a trade of Williams could provide $20MM of cap savings and result in $12.46MM of dead money.

James is yet another high-cost player who has struggled to stay on the field in his career. After appearing in every game as a rookie, James has missed 33 of a possible 83 games since. Despite leading the team in tackles this year, James had the worst NFL season of his career, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), grading out as the 71st best safety out of 95 graded players. Before this season, James hadn’t graded out worse than 12th. He showed decent pass rush and run defense in 2023, but graded out poorly in coverage. A James-trade would need to be a post-June 1 transaction. If traded pre-June 1, James would still cost the Chargers $1.46MM of cap space, while a post-June 1 designation would save the team $12.75MM of cap space.

Those players are all question marks, but Mack and Bosa have been blatantly named. Bosa started his career as one of the league’s most electric pass rushers with 23.0 sacks in his first two years, despite missing four games his rookie year. While he still threatens to put up double-digit sacks each year, he has to stay on the field in order to do so, and he has missed half the season three times in his career, including the most recent two seasons. If his physical shows the potential for a full return to form, he could fetch a high price in trade talks.

Los Angeles will try to sell high on Mack, who had a career year at 32 years old. Mack was a world-beater early in his career, racking up 40.5 sacks and a Defensive Player of the Year award with the Raiders. Though his production dipped a bit after getting traded to Chicago, Mack still made three straight Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams as a Bear. Mack was traded once again to the Chargers in 2022, and after a decent first season in LA, Mack delivered a career-high 17.0 sacks in 2023, his first time delivering double-digit sacks since his first year in Chicago in 2018.

It’s unclear just how much Los Angeles is willing to part with this spring. Clearly, “many veteran players” have been advertised as available, including Mack and Bosa, but it’s hard to say just how many of those high-cap players will be shipped out. There are other ways to try and lower the players’ cap impacts, like restructures to current deals, but the easiest way may be to clear them off your books (for the most part) and get something in return. It will be interesting to see how much the Chargers are willing to give up in order to rebuild around Herbert.

Chargers’ Joey Bosa Returns To Practice

December 21st, 2023 at 6:02pm CST by Ben Levine

The Chargers’ season is all but over, but the team should be welcoming back their defensive star for the stretch run. According to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, the Chargers have designated pass-rusher Joey Bosa to return from injured reserve.

Bosa landed on injured reserve in late-November after suffering a foot sprain. The Pro Bowler was seen crying as he was carted into the locker room during that Week 11 loss, leading some to believe he could be done for the season. However, it sounds like Bosa will at least try to return in 2023, although his 21-day window for activation exceeds the days left in the regular season.

The Chargers have three games remaining on their schedule. The team has lost three of their four games since Bosa went down, including a 42-point loss to the Raiders that ultimately led to the ousting of head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco.

In his nine games this season, Bosa has compiled 6.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and six QB hits. The veteran has played much of the season with a broken toe, an injury that forced him to miss one game. This is the second-straight season that Bosa has landed on injured reserve, with the 28-year-old missing 12 games in 2022 thanks to a core muscle injury.

Bosa has also missed chunks of game in five of his eight NFL seasons. In his three healthiest seasons, he’s compiled a total 34.5 sacks.

Chargers Place Joey Bosa On IR

November 20th, 2023 at 5:59pm CST by Ben Levine

Joey Bosa is set to miss some time. The Chargers pass rusher has been diagnosed with a foot sprain and will likely be placed on injured reserve, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Bolts have since announced the move.

This move would keep Bosa off the field for at least four weeks; he’ll be first eligible to return in Week 16. This will run Bosa’s career absence count to 34 games. While the standout edge rusher has suited up for 16 contests in three separate seasons, he has missed extended time in other campaigns.

Bosa was carted to the locker room during yesterday’s game against the Packers. He was initially listed as questionable before being downgraded to out. Bosa was visibly upset while exiting the game, and head coach Brandon Staley later said it was “to be determined” if Bosa would miss the rest of the campaign, so Chargers fans were surely preparing for the worst.

This injury comes at a poor time for Bosa. As Daniel Popper of The Athletic writes, the star pass rusher was just getting back to full health after dealing with a hamstring injury and left big toe fracture earlier this season. Despite the veteran ramping up, he was still plenty productive, collecting 6.5 sacks through nine games.

Unfortunately, injuries have been an ongoing theme throughout Bosa’s career. The pass rusher was limited to only five games in 2022 thanks to a groin injury, and through the first seven seasons of his career, Bosa missed 30 regular season contests.

Khalil Mack has been having a standout season for the Chargers, and the team will lean on the linebacker even more with Bosa sidelined. Second-round rookie Tuli Tuipulotu will also take on a larger role with his teammate injured.

NFL Injury Roundup: Packers, Bosa, Becton

November 19th, 2023 at 6:01pm CST by Ely Allen

The Packers were down to just one healthy running back today when both starting running back Aaron Jones and undrafted rookie third-stringer Emanuel Wilson were ruled out of today’s win over the Chargers after both sustained injuries in the team’s final drive of the first half.

After Jones exited the game with a knee injury, Green Bay’s big-bodied AJ Dillon came in to take over for Jones. A few plays later, Wilson came in to spell Dillon for two plays. On the second play, Wilson was pushed out of bounds, where he sustained the injury that would hold him out for the remainder of the contest. While not very effective, Dillon would take over the rushing load for the rest of the day. The rushing game did get a little extra boost thanks to a 32-yard touchdown run from wide receiver Jayden Reed before the two backs were knocked out.

After the game had ended, head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters that he didn’t believe the injury to Jones’ knee would be a long-term ailment, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. If Jones or Wilson are forced to miss any time, though, the only in-house option is rookie practice squad running back Ellis Merriweather.

Here are a couple other injury updates from today’s games:

Chargers star pass rusher Joey Bosa was ruled out of today’s loss to the Packers with a foot injury. It was a dire-looking scene as Bosa was carted off the sideline in tears. While no official diagnosis has been released, Bosa was seen on the sideline later with crutches and a walking boot on his right foot, per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.
In the afternoon slate, the Jets got off to a rough start in their divisional matchup when starting left tackle Mekhi Becton left the game, walking gingerly off the field on the team’s third drive. He would eventually be carted off to the locker room for further evaluation, per Brian Costello of the New York Post. According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, Becton was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a suspected high ankle sprain.

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