Bills' veteran addition 'at career crossroads' among NFL players with most pressure

The Buffalo Bills signed Joey Bosa to a one-year, $12.6 million deal this offseason after the team cut ties with Von Miller after three seasons.

The Bills are hoping Bosa can replace Miller, who tallied six sacks in 13 games while playing a rotational role in 2024. Bosa finished last season with five in 14 games.

But there are multiple concerns with Bosa, who just turned 30 and has struggled with injuries during his career. In fact, Bosa even got hurt earlier this offseason, although he's healthy going into training camp.

In an article naming players with the most pressure on them in 2025, ESPN's Bill Barnwell had Bosa on the list and noted that Bosa is "at a career crossroads" entering his 14th year.

"For Bosa, the time to prove he can still wreck opposing quarterbacks is right now. Having turned 30 this month, he is at a career crossroads," Barnwell said. "After missing significant time over his final three seasons in Los Angeles, he was forced to take a pay cut to stay on the roster in 2024 before being cut this spring. With the Bills still looking for a special pass rusher to get them over the hump, he essentially replaced Miller on the roster by signing a one-year deal for $12 million, with incentives that could add up to $3 million more if he stays healthy and racks up 12 sacks."

Bills defensive players Joey Bosa and A.J. Epenesa head for the practice field during the opening day of Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher University Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Pittsford. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We couldn't agree more with Barnwell. If Bosa fails to stay healthy and isn't productive when he is on the field, he's going to have a tough time landing any semblance of a significant deal in 2026.

Bosa has missed a total of 23 games over the past three seasons, including 12 in 2022 and eight in 2023. That isn't lost on the Bills, though, who plan on managing Bosa's reps in training camp to ensure he gets to the season healthy.

"Couldn't be more happy with the work that he's put in to come back healthy and ready to go," head coach Sean Dermott said Wednesday. "We'll have a rep plan for him and a way to manage things to the best of our ability to try and keep him as healthy as possible and we look forward to watching him out there this morning at practice."

The most important thing is getting Bosa to the playoffs healthy, as that's when he'll be needed most.

We'd expect the Bills to have Bosa playing in a rotational role much like Miller was in last season in order to accomplish that goal.

Miller played just 33% of snaps in 2024, while Bosa was on the field for 50% of the Los Angeles Chargers'. Bosa is six years younger, so we'd expect his snap count to be closer to 50%.

While it would be great for Bosa to be healthy all year long, his stint in Buffalo will ultimately be judged by what he does in the playoffs and if he can help Buffalo get over the hump to a Super Bowl.

Jul 23, 2025; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Joey Bosa (97) in drills during training camp at St. John Fisher University. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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