The Chargers on Wednesday night released five-time Pro Bowl linebacker/edge rusher Joey Bosa, cutting ties with their longest-tenured player before he was due to collect a $12.36 million bonus.
The move was expected given Bosa’s large salary cap number and injury history. Bosa had a salary cap number of $36.47 million for the 2025 season (the largest for any edge rusher in the league), but the Chargers will save $25.36 million in cap space with his release.
Bosa, 29, was the third overall pick by the Chargers in the 2016 NFL Draft and was the last player on the roster from when the team played in San Diego. He was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016 and was selected to the Pro Bowl in four of his first five seasons.
He signed a five-year extension worth $135 million in 2020 that made him the league’s highest-paid defensive player at the time, but his availability issues became an annual concern. Dealing with groin, foot and hip injuries, Bosa played in only 29 of 52 games (regular season and playoffs) over the last three years with 14 sacks.
After seeing action in 16 games in 2021, Bosa saw the field for only 14 games combined in the 2022 and ’23 season. He missed most of 2022 because of a groin injury, but returned late in the year. He was sidelined the final seven games in 2023 with a foot injury.
He and the Chargers adjusted his contract before last season, reducing his salary by $7 million. The Chargers did something similar with fellow edge rusher Khalil Mack, which helped the team keep them together for the first season under head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Bosa played in 14 games with nine starts in 2024, but his five sacks were his fewest in the six seasons during which he has played at least 12 games as he battled hip and back injuries.
Bosa’s 72 sacks are tied for the 10th most in the NFL since he entered the league and are second in franchise history.
Bosa will carry a dead money charge of $11.111 million this year. With this move, the Chargers are projected to have approximately $90 million in cap space ahead of free agency, which puts them in the top three in the league.