The Los Angeles Chargers surprised the football world last night when they released longtime star Joey Bosa. Bosa was the last remaining player from the San Diego era and had been a stalwart of the defense for his entire career.
Releasing Bosa freed up roughly $25 million in cap space, pushing the Chargers cap space to roughly $90 million, which is good enough for 3rd most in the entire NFL.
Currently, the Chargers only have two viable starters under contract at the EDGE position: Bud Dupree and Tuli Tuipulotu. With the extra cap space, they could look to re-sign Khalil Mack, but they will still need to add to the room through free agency or the NFL Draft.
Let’s take a look at 5 replacements for Joey Bosa.
Chargers Sign Super Bowl Champion Josh Sweat
Josh Sweat has played his entire career with Philadelphia after getting drafted in 2018. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, he will be looking for a fairly lucrative contract.
He posted 41 tackles and 8 sacks last year, showing that he can still get after the quarterback, and he would be a great fit in Jesse Minter’s defense. Sweat has played 16 or more games every season of his career but two. Having a consistently healthy starter would, by itself, make this a great signing.
Trade For Cleveland Browns Star Myles Garrett
This would be an absolute blockbuster, but the Chargers do have the resources to pull it off if they wanted to. Garrett has made it known that he wants to be traded, and it doesn’t sound like there is much that Cleveland can do to change his mind.
Garrett (30) has no guaranteed money left on his current contract and has a cap hit of roughly $19 million this season. So, money would not be an issue for the Chargers. But the asking price will be steep. The Chargers currently have 11 draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft and own the rights to pick 22 in the first round. They would undoubtedly have to send Cleveland their 1st, but how much more would it take?
Garrett had 47 tackles and 14 sacks last season.
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Sign New York Giants EDGE Azeez Ojulari
Ojulari is coming off of his rookie contract and is still only 25 years old. Injury is a bit of concern as he hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year and only played in 11 games each of the last two seasons.
His production, however, has been solid. In 11 games last year, he finished with 28 tackles and 6 sacks. If the price is right, signing Olujari could have tremendous upside.
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Sign Former First-Round Pick Chase Young
Chase Young would be another signing that could be fairly affordable but come with tremendous upside. After being drafted 2nd overall in the 2020 draft, Young has had an up-and-down career. He has flashed brilliance and looked as if he would be the staple of the Washington defense for years, but after being traded last year, it has been a bit rocky.
Young had a fairly quiet season with the Saints last year, but he did play all 17 games and finished with 5.5 sacks. He is still only 25 years old, so he certainly has plenty of tread left and could reach his full potential in Jesse Minter’s defense.
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Trade For Sack-Leader Trey Hendrickson
This would be another blockbuster, and it didn’t even seem feasible until it was just reported that the Cincinnati Bengals granted Hendrickson permission to seek a trade.
Hendrickson has led the NFL over the past two seasons with 35 sacks and finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. He is in the final year of his contract, which carries no guaranteed money and roughly a $19 million cap hit.
While Hendrickson clearly has immense value, the Bengals have been forced to invest a ton of capital into their offensive playmakers and still have to get a deal done next year with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, so the Chargers may actually be able to get Hendrickson for cheaper than expected. I would expect the compensation to be considerably lower than what Myles Garrett would command.
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