Former Chargers Star Headed to Free Agency Might be a Fallback Plan

The Los Angeles Chargers need to pay some serious attention to the pass-rushing future of the defense this offseason.

After all, Khalil Mack is the biggest name heading to the open market for the Chargers. If he intends to keep playing, Jim Harbaugh and Co. are sure to want him back.

While not as big of a name, perhaps more important is Odafe Oweh. The former first-round pick continues to get gigantic contract projections after his trade and arrival with the Chargers saw him break out.

Were the Chargers to lose one, if not both of those players to free agency, general manager Joe Hortiz and Co. would need to look at other available options.

Would they perhaps look to the past for help?

Joey Bosa’s free agency contract projection

Joey Bosa watches the offensive line. — Joey Bosa | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Don’t wince at the idea of Joey Bosa just yet.

Sure, things between Bosa and the Chargers didn’t appear to end all that nicely, not after the team cut him and he went to join the Buffalo Bills. He also sort of had that big meltdown in the Bills’ playoff loss that wasn't so great.

Even so, Bosa just stayed mostly healthy for 15 games on a contender. At Pro Football Focus, he’s still the 27th overall-ranked free agent and the contract prediction isn’t that bad:

Contract projection: One year, $11,000,000 | $10,000,000 guaranteed

Stranger things have happened in the NFL, as fans surely know. Past injury woes and the fact he’ll be 31 next season could be factors in Bosa having a pretty limited market. If the Chargers need not-so-expensive depth after say, spending big on Oweh, perhaps the familiarity for both sides plays a role.

Again, unlikely. But it is interesting to keep tabs on a former high-profile pick who played nearly a decade with the Chargers and how he’s doing compared to the rest of the market after his prove-it deal in Buffalo.

Surely, the Chargers would like to get Mack and Oweh back, plus Tuli Tuipulotu, who had a breakout of his own last year with 13 sacks. But if rotational depth is a need, a guy who has already been in the building plenty could be on the open market.

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