With no deal, Chargers withdraw offer to first-rounder Bosa

The San Diego Chargers made a bold statement yesterday afternoon when they announced their version of the contract offer that was made to No. 3 overall draft pick Joey Bosa.

It’s looking more likely that Bosa won’t see the field this year as a member of the Chargers and in that case, he could enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said for now, the Chargers will rely on other defensive linemen currently on the roster to fill the void.

“We’ll have a plan for him whenever he’s here”, head coach Mike McCoy said, per Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. “There’s not really much you can do about it”.

As much as Bosa sitting out as a rookie would hurt his image, this hurts the Chargers even more.

The Chargers also appear unwilling to move off of the inclusion of offset language in the contract, pointing to the fact that 29 of the 31 first-round draft picks in this year’s draft have offset language in their contracts.

Bosa is due to receive a four-year deal with a team option for a fifth year worth $26 million.

– The largest payment and the highest percentage of signing bonus received in the first calendar of any Chargers’ first-round pick since the inception of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (2011).

The Chargers may have also put themselves into a box they might be able to get out of.

Bosa is the last drafted Buckeye yet to sign a rookie contract. For those who don’t know, inclusion of offset language means if a player is released and signs elsewhere, that amount offsets whatever guaranteed money the original team owed.

How long do the Chargers have to sign him?

The Chargers seem prepared to go into the season without Bosa in the picture.

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Bosa spent three seasons in Columbus where he recorded 26 sacks and 51 tackles for loss. According to National Football League rules, he had until August 9 to sign his contract in order for the Chargers to trade his rights to another team. It’s actually gotten so bad that Bosa’s mom Cheryl recently said she wished Joey had “pulled an Eli Manning” and demanded a trade after finding out the Chargers had drafted him. Bosa and his agent aren’t going to kowtow to the Chargers just because San Diego tried to run Bosa down in a public forum. Then again that’s what we’ve been saying since the draft. Bosa’s camp remained steadfast in receiving the entire signing bonus by the end of this year.