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Kris Rhim, ESPN
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Joey Bosa, who took a pay cut to remain with the team this season and was the subject of offseason trade rumors, said he has had conversations about playing with his brother, Nick, the San Francisco 49ers‘ All-Pro OLB, though they have never been serious.
“It’d be cool at some point,” Joey Bosa said Wednesday. “I always thought of myself being somebody that will play here 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.”
Bosa had two years remaining on a five-year, $135 million contract extension he signed in 2020. He was viewed as a potential cut or trade candidate for the salary cap-strapped Chargers this offseason but restructured his deal in March to stay with them. He has an $8 million guaranteed base salary this season and no guaranteed money in 2025, potentially making this his final season in Los Angeles.
“I want to win. I want to be on this team. I want another shot with the guys in this room, especially Khalil [Mack],” Bosa said. “And winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money.
“So 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.”
Bosa has played just 14 games over the past two seasons, missing time with hamstring, foot and toe injuries. The frustration of those injuries was evident when Bosa left the field in tears after spraining his foot in a Week 11 loss to the Green Bay Packers last season that sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Bosa attempted to return from that injury late in the season but sprained another part of his foot in practice, he said.
He avoided surgery on his foot but said he had offseason surgery on his finger for a separate injury that he didn’t specify.
“My foot’s feeling great. Toe’s good. The hamstring’s good. I mean, there was a list of things last year, my hand, so all those things are good,” Bosa said. “It’s nice to be feeling better going into Year 9 than you have since maybe five, six years ago.
“I’ve said I’ve been feeling great the last couple years. It’s the real deal this time, but obviously anything can happen. But it’s fun, feeling really confident in your body and being able to perform.”
When healthy, Bosa is still one of the league’s best, as he showed in the Chargers’ win over the New York Jets in Week 9 last season, when he had 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He is looking forward to showing his skills during training camp next month when he matches up against Chargers first-round rookie Joe Alt.
“I’m going to need to beat him up a little bit in camp so he’s ready,” Bosa joked. “We’ll see in a few weeks, when I lay a helmet on his chin, how he holds up.”
