3 Joey Bosa landing spots if Chargers cut or trade star pass-rusher

The Los Angeles Chargers have a decision to make about their franchise pass rusher. Joey Bosa had a cap hit upwards of $36 million next season. If they want to retain him, they’ll have to rework his contract, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler ($).

If they can’t agree on a re-work then it would make sense for them to let him go via cutting him or trading him, which would save them around $25 million in cap space. Trading him is obviously the smarter move to guarantee something in return. 

Bosa came into the NFL and became one of the premier pass rushers. He has four seasons with 10 more sacks since his rookie season in 2016. Health has been his biggest ailment. He’s only had two seasons where he was fully healthy. 

Not only has that hurt his value, but it makes him a liability for any team interested in signing him. That said, if he is available, there are teams that need to take that risk if they want to stay competitive.

It won’t take long for a team to swoop in and add him to the roster, regardless of what the Chargers decide to do. Here’s who should be interested in signing Bosa instantly if he becomes available. 

3. Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have to make some serious decisions that are going to impact them for the foreseeable future. That includes what to do with Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. There’s no way they bring them both back. So if the Chargers rid themselves of Bosa, Duke Tobin has to find a way to bring Bosa to Cincinnati. 

The biggest problem with bringing Bosa in is he hasn’t had a full healthy season since 2019, though he missed just one game in 2019. This past season was the most he played over the last three years, playing in 14 games. 

He hasn’t been nearly as destructive as he was earlier in his career, but in Cincinnati, he could end his career on a high. Their defense needs help and while they probably don’t want to lose Hendrickson, if they do, Bosa is an ideal replacement. 

2. Dallas Cowboys

It’s been all speculation so far, but if the Dallas Cowboys end up moving on from both DeMarcus Lawrence and trading Micah Parsons, they’d need immediate help. First things first, they’d need to address their pass rush in the draft. 

But after that, bringing in a veteran pass rusher could help stop the bleeding from cleaning out their best pass rushers. This would also require Jerry Jones to veer off his traditional philosophy and not make massive moves in free agency. 

That said, he has to understand how urgent putting together a winning roster is right now. He wants to be the owner, president and GM, well that means he has to make all those decisions as one person. 

If he refuses to replenish the pass rush after letting his top two go, it would be a failure. Bosa isn’t the long term answer, but he at least keeps the Cowboys competitive defensively. 

Because Bosa has had injury problems, not been as destructive and is toward the end of his career, he should be a cheap addition if the Chargers don’t focus on trading him. 

1. Detroit Lions 

The Detroit Lions could bring back Za’Darius Smith if they wanted as he did exactly what he needed to as an emergency option after Aidan Hutchinson’s leg injury. They could even bring Smith back and go after Joey Bosa too to keep their pass rush elite. 

The Lions are in win-now mode and shouldn’t focus on drafting players to fill out their most important needs. They need to find a way to get some respectable veterans to stay competitive. Bosa alongside Hutchinson could be enough to keep the Lions defense atop the NFL, despite losing their defensive coordinator. 

Dan Campbell will have one of the toughest jobs in football next year. He lost both his coordinators and can’t afford to not contend in the NFC again. That’s the new expectation in Detroit. 

The best way to continue to compete at a high level is to bring in quality players. They have to address their pass rush and Bosa is a short-term solution that can keep them in win-now mode.