Joey Bosa spent the first nine years of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers. He is going to be playing for a new team in 2025.
The Chargers released Bosa on Wednesday, creating an extra $25.36 million in cap space for the team. Los Angeles now has $90.69 million in cap space for the 2025 NFL season, good for the third-most league-wide according to OverTheCap.com.
Bosa, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2016 NFL draft, quickly blossomed into a star with the Chargers. He won the AP’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2016 and made it to five Pro Bowls while racking up 72 sacks in 107 games in Los Angeles.
However, Bosa has struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, playing in just 28 of a possible 51 regular-season games over the last three years. He will turn 30 in July, so it isn’t clear whether he will land another big-money deal despite his history of high-end pass-rushing production.
Nonetheless, Bosa should draw plenty of interest as he hits free agency for the first time in his career. Here are some teams that could consider adding him to bolster their pass rush.
San Francisco 49ers
Could Joey Bosa team up with his brother Nick Bosa? That may be an intriguing option for the elder Bosa and the 49ers. San Francisco found a quality complement to the younger Bosa in Leonard Floyd (8.5 sacks) last season, but he is set to turn 33 in September.
The elder Bosa could split time with Floyd and keep them both fresh and healthy. That would give the 49ers a quality pass-rushing rotation, which could prove key as they look to return to the postseason after a disappointing 2024 season.
Cincinnati Bengals
Trey Hendrickson led the NFL in sacks with 17.5 last season, but no other Bengals player had more than five (Joseph Ossai). Bosa would immediately raise the ceiling of Cincinnati’s pass rush and would be an ideal replacement for his former college teammate Sam Hubbard, who announced his retirement ahead of free agency.
Chicago Bears
Montez Sweat led the Bears despite posting just 5.5 sacks in 2024. Chicago could use another high-end pass rusher to take some attention off Sweat and give him an easier path to the quarterback. Bosa would certainly siphon some attention and with $50.35 million in available cap space, the Bears can afford to chase the Pro Bowl talent.
Washington Commanders
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders made Maxx Crosby the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, but they need to find a consistent partner for him with Malcolm Koonce set to be a free agent. Bosa and Crosby would be a fearsome duo and would buy Las Vegas extra time to develop 2023 first-round pick Tyree Wilson, who has eight sacks in 33 games across his first two seasons.
Philadelphia Eagles
Howie Roseman loves adding talent to the trenches. The Eagles could use some depth on the edge with 36-year-old Brandon Graham potentially heading for retirement and Josh Sweat set to be a free agent. Bosa would be a strong replacement option for Sweat and may be cheaper than the soon-to-be 28-year-old, given Sweat’s strong performance in Super Bowl 59.