Don't rule out a Joey Bosa return to the Los Angeles Chargers just yet

Don’t count on Joey Bosa leaving the Los Angeles Chargers just yet, it seems.

While the Chargers made the obvious move before free agency by cutting Bosa to free up roughly $25 million in cap space, that doesn’t mean the two parties can’t get back together again.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed the fair assumption while chatting about the news recently: “The door's not shut on the Chargers. The money was not gonna happen."

Rapoport did confirm that Bosa will check out the free-agent market, as expected. There’s reason to believe he’d look at linking up with his brother Nick Bosa on the San Francsico 49ers or perhaps go ring-chasing on a team like the Philadelphia Eagles.

But the Chargers aren’t necessarily eliminated from the running, either. Jim Harbaugh and Co. have the look of contenders and Bosa knows the program and people there. But it wouldn’t have made sense from the player’s point of view to accept another pay cut for a second offseason in a row without first seeing what other teams might be willing to offer.

Of course, attentive fans will point out that similar things were said about other recent Chargers departures such as Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. They wound up elsewhere.

Then again, given how things panned out for those other former Chargers greats in new locations, perhaps Bosa skips the leaving part and just stays in town.

Either way, Bosa is still an option for the Chargers, at least for now. Getting him back on a cheaper deal, especially when Khalil Mack’s future is a question mark, would be a nice, but welcome surprise.

Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa — Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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