The strained hamstring that Chargers rookie defensive end Joey Bosa has battled this month will likely prevent him from making his NFL debut this Sunday, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Chargers, who face the Colts this week, do have a plan for when the third overall pick will crack their lineup, per Gehlken, but the earliest date could be Week 4 against New Orleans.

Thanks to a contentious, lengthy holdout over the summer, Bosa missed all of training camp and sat out each of the Chargers’ four preseason games, which placed him behind the 8-ball. The ex-Ohio State Buckeye and the Chargers fought over offset language and signing bonus distribution in Bosa’s deal before eventually agreeing to a compromise Aug. 29.

Bosa has progressed toward seeing his first pro action lately, as the 21-year-old engaged in back-to-back practices Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since early June. Before this week, the Chargers’ Aug. 30 practice was the only one he had participated in since the spring.

San Diego has started 1-1 without Bosa, a two-time All-American who combined for 51 tackles for loss and 26 sacks during his three-year college career. The Chargers’ Bosa-less defense racked up two sacks and a pair of interceptions in the team’s 38-14 win over Jacksonville last Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The strained hamstring that kept Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa from playing in their Week 1 loss to the Chiefs will also sideline him Sunday against the Jaguars. Further, Bosa isn’t a lock to play the Chargers’ Week 3 road game versus the Colts, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Nothing has gone according to plan for Bosa or the Chargers since the team selected him with the third pick in this year’s draft. The ex-Ohio State Buckeye and the Chargers engaged in a contentious battle over Bosa’s rookie contract, and he didn’t sign until Aug. 29. The two sides fought over offset language and signing bonus distribution in Bosa’s deal before eventually agreeing to a compromise.

Thanks to the length of his dispute with the Chargers, Bosa missed all of training camp and sat out each of the club’s four preseason games. The now-injured Bosa missed all of the Bolts’ practices this week before they declared him out and hasn’t yet suited up in full pads since ending his holdout.

Without Bosa, a two-time All-American who combined for 51 tackles for loss and 26 sacks during his three-year college career, the Chargers blew a 24-3 lead over the Chiefs en route to a 33-27 overtime defeat last Sunday. San Diego did sack Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith three times, but he still completed 34 of 48 passes for 363 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL general managers are “laughing” at the Chargers’ handling of the Joey Bosa contract situation, reports Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, who says that nearly every source agrees than San Diego is to blame for the current mess of negotiations. “If Joey Bosa ended his dispute tomorrow, he would barely get something from his rookie year,” said one GM. “But it won’t end tomorrow. It could be weeks. So effectively, the Chargers threw away the rookie year of their own high draft pick.” Another GM estimated a 20-30% chance that Bosa could sit out the entire year and re-enter the draft in 2017, and a source close to Bosa told Freeman the chance of that scenario coming to fruition “is slim but growing every day.”

Let’s check out some more reaction to the Bosa squabble:

• The Chargers are preparing as though they’ll begin the regular season without Bosa, a sentiment that head coach Mike McCoy confirms, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). “We’re going to win with whoever we have,” McCoy told reporters today, and general manager Tom Telesco echoed that statement, per Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. “There’s not really much you can do about it,” said Telesco, although Williams argues that San Diego will likely pick up a few extra defenders in the coming weeks, either through free agency or the waiver process.
• The dispute is a bad look for both the Chargers and Bosa, opines Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (all Twitter links). The stalemate hurts the organization as it tries to build a new stadium in San Diego, but it also affects Bosa’s agency, CAA, as other agencies could use this situation to poach clients. At least one NFL executive expressed shock to Schrager that the friction was still ongoing: “Is THIS the hill you want to die on?”
• The NFLPA has contacted Bosa and his camp, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, but a grievance is considered a “last resort,” says union spokesperson George Atallah. As Pelissero writes, San Diego would be able to decrease their offer and still fall within the contract requirements outlined by the CBA, meaning that Bosa could only argue that the club had refused to negotiate in good faith.
• As evidenced by the Chargers’ statement on Wednesday, Bosa has seemingly agreed to a large deferral of his signing bonus — but that deferral isn’t quite significant enough for the team, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
• In case you missed the rest of the drama earlier this week, Chargers president John Spanos called Bosa’ holdout “absolutely asinine,” while Bosa’s agent accused the club of “manipulating facts.”