Around the NFL

March 06, 2025

Joey, if you're hurting so am I

Pass rusher should have a market

Lots of big names gets released this time of year, some more surprising than others. I don't know if Joey Bosa quite qualifies as a shock, but I think it's a little surprising.

Bosa is a 5-time Pro Bowler with the Chargers, including last year. That's a little surprising, in that it wasn't his best season, but clearly he still generates some respect around the league. He's 29; not in his prime, but not necessarily time to be put out to pasture for a pass rusher, either. And the Chargers are a playoff team, not a rebuilding one.

Aside from age, contract was a factor, with Bosa due a $12 million roster bonus next week. Los Angeles presumably wants the money and cap room for other areas of the roster. But I think he'll have a market from contending teams looking for a still disruptive force.

Injuries are the main factor in his release. Over the last five seasons, he's missed 28 of a possible 84 games; nearly 6 per year. But just 3 in 2024. And on the field, he's still one of more productive pass rushers.

Using the search tools at pro-football-reference.com, I looked at just the last five years (during which injuries have cost him time). Among players to play at least half the games over that time span, he's remained one of the 15 more productive players in his role. This is based on sacks, tackles for losses and quarterback hits. He's at 2.5 per game.

PASS RUSHERS, PER GAME (2020-2024)
Player	Sk	TFL	QBHits	G	Com/G
T.J. Watt	73.5	90	155	74	4.30
Nick Bosa	53.5	71	140	66	4.01
Myles Garrett	72.0	84	135	80	3.64
Micah Parsons	52.5	63	112	63	3.61
Trey Hendrickson	70.5	65	137	80	3.41
Maxx Crosby	49.5	89	130	79	3.40
Danielle Hunter	45.0	58	77	58	3.10
Aaron Donald	39.0	59	87	60	3.08
Chris Jones	47.5	50	123	77	2.86
Matt Judon	43.5	49	92	69	2.67
Brian Burns	47.0	71	97	81	2.65
Josh Hines-Allen	42.5	52	99	74	2.61
Haason Reddick	51.5	53	86	76	2.51
Joey Bosa	32.0	34	74	56	2.50
Za'Darius Smith	37.0	44	84	66	2.50
Montez Sweat	40.0	52	98	76	2.50
Harold Landry	37.0	53	74	67	2.45
DeForest Buckner	39.0	50	101	78	2.44
Leonard Williams	37.0	50	100	79	2.37
Khalil Mack	46.0	56	69	73	2.34
Zach Allen	25.0	43	104	74	2.32
Quinnen Williams	36.5	48	92	77	2.29
Jonathan Greenard	35.0	50	63	65	2.28
Leonard Floyd	48.0	45	94	84	2.23
Bradley Chubb	26.5	26	65	53	2.22
Cameron Heyward	34.5	54	82	77	2.21
Gregory Rousseau	25.0	46	66	62	2.21
Josh Sweat	39.0	47	86	79	2.18
Rashan Gary	37.0	36	88	74	2.18
Denico Autry	39.0	42	70	70	2.16
Jonathan Allen	27.0	42	87	73	2.14
Alex Highsmith	35.5	49	72	77	2.03
Shaquil Barrett	25.5	29	53	55	1.95
Dexter Lawrence	27.5	33	86	76	1.93
Jadeveon Clowney	26.0	37	59	65	1.88
Jeffery Simmons	29.5	45	64	75	1.85
Kyle Van Noy	37.5	46	56	77	1.81
Javon Hargrave	31.0	33	57	67	1.81
Cameron Jordan	34.5	47	65	82	1.79
Yannick Ngakoue	33.0	30	63	71	1.77
Emmanuel Ogbah	29.5	28	72	73	1.77
Nnamdi Madubuike	28.0	40	66	76	1.76
Zach Sieler	29.0	48	67	82	1.76
Preston Smith	34.0	34	75	83	1.72
Andrew Van Ginkel	27.5	45	72	84	1.72
Kwity Paye	26.5	31	41	58	1.70
Brandon Graham	25.5	35	46	63	1.69
Vita Vea	25.0	33	50	66	1.64
Daron Payne	27.0	49	61	84	1.63
Bud Dupree	27.5	30	50	66	1.63
Dre'Mont Jones	27.0	37	57	76	1.59
Carl Granderson	27.5	40	59	80	1.58
D.J. Wonnum	27.0	28	55	70	1.57
Dorance Armstrong Jr.	26.0	28	55	79	1.38
Dante Fowler	28.0	36	44	79	1.37

Clearly, he's not up there on a level with his brother, or the best of the best like T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons. But those guys aren't available, and apparently Myles Garrett isn't either (although he wants to be).

Bosa is free and clear, and he should be getting calls. In his last game, the playoff loss to the Texans, he had a sack (pictured), tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. Would make a lot of sense for a contending team in need of a veteran pass rusher. Unless he's in no rush to sign, I don't think he'll be unemployed long.

--Andy Richardson

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