Joey Bosa still remains without a contract as the San Diego Chargers prepare to open training camp, and nobody knows if he will report for work.
One of three NFL rookies who have yet to sign, Bosa’s contract is being held up by offset language. The team wants to ensure Bosa’s contract falls in line with what it has done with all its players.
But there is also a concern that he could potentially double-dip if things don’t work out and he is cut by the team with guaranteed money still left on the deal.
“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.”
Most figured the Chargers and Bosa would have things worked out by now, with just a few days before rookies and veterans will report to camp on July 29. But to this point, no deal has been struck.
General manager Tom Telesco isn’t sure when that might happen or if Bosa will even report.
“I don’t know,” Telesco said on The Mighty 1090 in San Diego, via ESPN.com. “I guess we’ll see. I really don’t know if he’ll [show up]. We’re still working on it. Hopefully we’ll get something done, but I don’t know.”
Hopefully the two sides can come to an agreement. Typically, things don’t work out well when rookies hold out of camp. They need every single snap to get assimilated to the NFL game as quickly as possible.
For Bosa, this is even more important, as he’s learning an entirely new position as a 3-4 defensive end after spending his college career as a 4-3 defensive end on the edge on most plays.