Joey Bosa Is Still Unsigned, Chargers Must Get Deal Done Before Camp

Joey Bosa was expected to make an immediate impact at defensive end as a rookie, which is why the San Diego Chargers selected him with the third pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Bosa immediately became the poster boy for the Chargers and made the media rounds as an enthusiastic member of the team and the community. Then, suddenly, he was a holdout from mandatory minicamp. A month later there has been no movement to get the Ohio State star under contract.

The major issue between the two sides appears to be offset language in his rookie contract, which is easily explained here. Bosa’s agent believes the structure of the contract is also at issue, though the years and dollars in the deal are virtually set by the league’s rookie wage scale. John Spanos, the Chargers’ president of football operations, has all but said offset language is the sticking point.

San Diego obviously wants offset language in the contract so that if Bosa gets cut and signs elsewhere, the team wouldn’t have to pay him his full salary. That said, the chances that Bosa isn’t in San Diego for the length of his rookie contract are incredibly slim.

The Chargers had one of the worst run defenses in the NFL last year, as they ranked 27th, allowing 125.3 yards per game. Bosa was expected to be a guy who could make a huge difference in that regard after he was a two-time consensus All-American for the Buckeyes. Frankly, the dispute over his rookie contract is nowhere near as important as getting him on the roster and molding him into the player the Chargers need him to be.

I realize teams need to take a hard stance with contracts sometimes, but when that stance begins to hurt the product on the field it might be time to rethink things.

When the Chargers open training camp on July 30, Bosa needs to be there. San Diego must put a winning product on the field this year with a vote on a potential new stadium coming up in November. Bosa will make the Bolts better, and they need all the help they can get if the franchise is to remain in America’s Finest City.