Report: No Joey Bosa for 49ers, agrees to contract restructure with Chargers

Mar 14, 2024, 11:34 AM | Updated: 11:46 am

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 06: Joey Bosa #97 of the Los Angeles Chargers reacts during the second half against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on November 06, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

(Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

BY AMILIANO FRAGOSO

San Francisco 49ers Beat Writer

It was all a dream, short-lived and imaginative, that Joey Bosa would be joining the 49ers in 2024.

Reports surfaced Thursday morning that the Los Angeles Chargers and Bosa had agreed on a restructured contract, keeping him in LA after all. Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers have worked diligently to get under the 2024 salary cap over the last few days. Already cutting wide receiver Mike Williams and restructuring the deal of pass rusher Khalil Mack, Bosa and LA chose to do the latter, keeping him around for a 2024 run in the AFC.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first with the news Thursday.

The Chargers are keeping Joey Bosa, which does make sense considering the fact that Jim Harbaugh has never really liked letting good football players leave https://t.co/hLOcXAsgOZ

— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 14, 2024

Joey Bosa, 28, had been linked to the San Francisco 49ers as a possible destination if he was released. The Florida native had a $7.5 million roster bonus on his former contract that would have kicked in over the weekend if he remained a Charger. That date was seen as a final inflection point for the player’s future in LA, or elsewhere, for 2024.

While the terms of his reworked deal have not been disclosed yet, many would speculate that the number has been dramatically reduced for the former Pro Bowler.

Bosa has been a beast when on the field, racking up 321 combined tackles and 67 sacks in his NFL career. He’s made the Pro Bowl four times as well. His problem recently has been health, only playing 14 games the last two seasons due to injury. The Ohio State product suffered a serious foot sprain halfway through the 2023 season, putting him on the injured reserve.

Still only 28 years old, the hope by many of The Faithful was that he would find his way up north to Santa Clara, joining his brother, Nick, on the 49ers. In the end, though, that was only a pipe dream.

The 49ers will now look to the market to find more edge help opposite of Nick Bosa. They already agreed to terms with acclaimed pass rusher Leonard Floyd this week, with more players expected to join the NFC Champions.