Schefter: More Likely Than Not Joey Bosa Is Done Playing

Veteran DE Joey Bosa continues to wait in free agency as one of the most notable unsigned veterans. ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s latest comments suggest he might stay that way, as Schefter seems to believe Bosa is leaning toward retirement. 

The idea of pairing up with his brother, 49ers DE Nick Bosa, in San Francisco has continued to come up, but Schefter says odds are that would have happened by now if there were any legs to it. 

“It is more likely than not that Joey Bosa has played his last NFL down,” Schefter said on his podcast this week. “Now again, could a situation like the 49ers come along, that entices him enough to come out and play again? Yeah, absolutely. We saw it happen last year with Philip Rivers. So you never know when a player is fully done and when he’s not done. But the fact of the matter is, I think if the Niners wanted to pair those two together, it probably would have happened already.”

The younger Bosa was asked about a reunion earlier this summer and also seemed to suggest Joey Bosa might be leaning toward hanging things up. 

“He is working on his golf game,” he said via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. “I don’t think he’s too concerned with football right now.”

San Francisco would be the most obvious but there are some other potential options for Bosa to land with if he gets the itch to keep playing. 

Bosa, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Chargers back in 2016. He finished his four-year, $25.8 million rookie contract, and Los Angeles wound up exercising his fifth-year option.

Bosa was set to play out the 2020 season under the fifth-year option when he agreed to a five-year, $135 million extension with the Chargers.

He had one year remaining on that deal and was scheduled to make a base salary of $13 million in 2025 after he renegotiated his deal before the 2024 season to remain in Los Angeles. However, the Chargers cut him last offseason and he signed a one-year, $12.6 million deal with the Bills. 

In 2025, Bosa appeared in 15 games for the Bills and recorded 29 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks, five forced fumbles and two pass deflections. 

We have him included in our Top 100 Available NFL Free Agents list.