Why Chicago Bears Haven't Signed Joey Bosa in NFL Free Agency Yet

The Chicago Bears would benefit by adding Joey Bosa to their edge rushers room. So, why haven't they signed him yet?

Buffalo Bills defensive end Joey Bosa. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears need more help along the edge and there are still a few players out there who could offer that help, including former Buffalo Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa.

Sure, Bosa did have a disappointing season in 2025 after posting five sacks in 15 games, including zero over his last five contests (including playoffs), but he'd still offer more hope than most options Chicago has opposite Montez Sweat.

A Bosa-Bears pairing makes sense, so why hasn't it happened yet? Well, there could be multiple explanations.

Why Bears haven't signed Joey Bosa

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo Bills defensive end Joey Bosa. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The simplest possible explanation is because the Bears just aren't interested, whether that be because they don't view him as a good fit or are content with who they have currently.

Then again, the Bears did bring in another former Bill, AJ Epenesa, for a workout recently, so clearly they aren't 100% happy with the trio of Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner, even though head coach Ben Johnson has expressed faith in them publicly.

"We are excited about the guys that ended up finishing the season on IR, the trajectory that they were on, both Dayo (Odeyingbo) and Shemar (Turner)," he said. "When you look at it from the start of the season to the point where they both got injured, we saw growth and we saw them trending in the right direction, in terms of what we want to see on game day."

"I think you saw tremendous growth from (Austin) Booker when we were finally able to get him back (healthy), as well," Johnson added.

It's also possible the Bears are interested in Bosa but he just wants too much money.

Spotrac projects a two-year, $27.4 million deal for the five-time Pro Bowler. If he's looking for anything even in the neighborhood of that much, the Bears should not oblige.

Instead, a deal that is worth around half that in annual average for one year is more in line with what an aging and historically injury-plagued edge rusher should get following a five-sack season.

Why Bears need another edge rusher

Chicago Bears defensive end Austin Booker. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner are two of the players who will be competing for snaps opposite Sweat. The problem is the duo played in 13 games combined last season and posted just one sack, which was recorded by Odeyingbo in Week 1.

Making them even shakier, Odeyingbo saw his season end with a torn Achilles while Turner suffered a torn ACL. Those injuries can often take multiple years to fully come back from, so that only adds to the concern surrounding both.

The third player trying to earn snaps is the one who gives us the most hope, Austin Booker. The 2024 fifth-round pick returned from injury in Week 9 last season and saw a strong finish after posting 3.5 of his 4.5 sacks over the last four regular-season games.

That said, Booker is only 27 games and six sacks deep into his NFL career, so there's no telling which way he'll go from here.

Now you can see why even a shaky veteran like Bosa would be a welcomed addition. He offers just a bit more hope and that's all Bears fans can ask for after what has been a disappointing offseason at edge rusher thus far.