REPORT: Raiders' Divisional Foe Could Sustain Massive Loss

The Las Vegas Raiders will improve their team this offseason. However, numbers say an AFC West foe could lose one of their best players.

Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew (15) is sacked by Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa (97) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

After finishing the season 4-13 and firing their general manager and head coach, the Las Vegas Raiders have more than a few things to concern themselves with on the home front this offseason.

However, just as critical as improving as a team is watching what divisional opponents are doing, as winning the division equals an automatic playoff berth.

This is especially true for teams at the bottom of the division trying to work their way up like the Raiders are this offseason.

After failing to win a game within the AFC West this season, the Raiders could get some good news from the potential departure of Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Joey Bosa.

Ben Rolfe of the Pro Football Network believes Bosa's lack of production, compared to his contract, could make him a prime candidate for the Chargers to cut this season. Los Angeles could save a ton of money by getting rid of Bosa.

"Joey Bosa will be a bit of a headache for the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason," Rolfe said. "With just 28 games played out of a possible 51 in the last three seasons -- and 14 sacks and 40 pressures in that time -- the production does not equal the cost when it comes to a basic equation."

Still, Rolfe noted the Chargers have enough cap space to not necessarily have to let Bosa walk, but the money they could save by doing so makes it a reasonable consideration.

"However, as of Jan. 24, the Chargers have over $60 million in cap space," Rolfe said. "They only have 45 players under contract, so their effective salary cap is closer to $55 million, but that is still plenty of space to improve their team. Do they need to save another $25.4 million and let Bosa walk out the door?

"The overly simple answer is probably not. If Bosa had multiple years left on the deal with escalating costs, then it would be a case of, "Do they eat the cap now to save in the future?" If they want to free up more cap this year and move it into 2026, they could add void years to the deal and save cap space in 2025. Cutting Bosa at this point would be about moving on mentally. The cash and cap savings are a "bonus" to the situation but are likely not the driving force behind making a deal.

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