Rookie San Diego Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa is reportedly set to hold out of training camp in the midst of a contract standoff.
Steve Wyche of NFL Network was the first to report on this development, noting the two issues holding up a contract are “bonus payout timing and offset language.”
Earlier this week, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said he was not sure if Bosa would show up for camp. Now it appears he has his answer.
Bosa wants to ensure he gets a fully guaranteed contract. But president of football operations John Spanos recently laid out the main reason why the Chargers aren’t keen on leaving offset language out of the contract.
“Without offset language, it could unfortunately create the scenario where, as a player in that fourth year, if a player knows he has a million guaranteed from us and can go double dip and earn from another team, it actually in essence creates an incentive to get cut financially,” Chargers president of football operations John Spanos said back in June. “You can make more money getting cut.”
Furthermore, as Telesco mentioned earlier this week, the Chargers want to keep all their players’ contracts on similar terms, and not including offset language in Bosa’s deal would be going against the grain.
Bosa is learning an entirely new position as a defensive end in San Diego’s 3-4 scheme. He was a 4-3 defensive end at Ohio State and is used to operating on the edge most of the time.
Missing a lot of time at camp would only hinder his development. And the Chargers cannot afford for him to have a lost season, having just spent the No. 3 overall pick in the last draft to land him.
Already considered by some to have been a huge reach, especially that he’s going to be playing this new position, Bosa needs to get into camp as soon as possible.