Five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Joey Bosa is signing with the Buffalo Bills on a one-year, $12.6 million deal, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday night. The contract offers a max value of $15.6 million, according to Rapoport.
Recently cut loose by the Los Angeles Chargers after nine seasons and 72 sacks, Bosa joining his younger brother Nick with the San Francisco 49ers was a much-anticipated move. Instead, Bosa will join the reigning AFC East champions, who just released another veteran pass-rush specialist, Von Miller.
Bosa, 29, is six years Miller’s junior, and the Bills are hoping he can add a young veteran presence and supplement a pass rush led by Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa.
The Chargers parted ways with Bosa, a franchise standard sine he was drafted No. 3 overall in 2016, to save $26.36 million. It’s fair to wonder if Bosa didn’t join his brother in San Francisco because the 49ers have spent much of free agency so far letting past talent depart.
Regardless, Bosa — other than a drastic change in climate going from Southern California to Western New York — seems to have found a great fit.
The Bills will continue their quest for an elusive Super Bowl trophy with a pass rusher who’s no doubt hungry for playoff success. Bosa’s been part of just one postseason victory in nearly a decade, as the Bolts advanced to the playoffs in three of his nine campaigns with a 1-3 showing.
He’ll join a squad accustomed to success, having gone to the playoffs six years running with five straight AFC East crowns.
Bosa’s coming off a 2024 season in which he had only five sacks in 14 games (nine starts), but owns 72 for his career on the strength of four double-digit sack campaigns.
Perhaps the biggest question for both parties going forward will be how Bosa’s health holds up. He’s dealt with various injuries over the years and missed 23 games over the past three seasons.
If a healthy and re-energized version of Bosa emerges in 2025, the Bills might well get the result they were hoping for when they inked Miller three years ago.
