Joey Bosa enters uncharted territory this season, suiting up for a team other than the Chargers for the first time in his NFL career. The five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher signed with the Buffalo Bills in March after being released by Los Angeles, ending a nine-year run with the franchise that drafted him No. 3 overall in 2016. Bosa hasn’t played a full regular season since 2019, but he’s confident he can still be a difference-maker if he stays healthy.
“I’m gonna try to be the player that I’ve always been,” Bosa said, via NFL Network. “Like I mentioned, stay healthy, I think I can be dominant still. I’m still only just 30. I’m not washed just yet. I’m getting there, but I got a little bit longer.”
Bosa hasn’t recorded double-digit sacks since 2021. He posted just five in 14 games last season and appeared in only 14 total games across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, combining for nine sacks during that stretch.
He reached the playoffs just three times during his nine-year stint with the Chargers, exiting in the wild-card round twice. In Buffalo, Bosa joins a team that has made the postseason seven of the last eight years and has consistently been in the Super Bowl conversation since quarterback and 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen arrived. The Bills haven’t reached the title game since the 1993 season, but Bosa hopes to be part of the group that finally gets them over the hump.
“Let’s hope I don’t mess that up now,” Bosa said. “Hopefully I can be a tool to help push it over that edge to get to the place that obviously everybody here has their eyes set on. It’s fun coming to an organization that has been there and done it. They all have a really common goal, and we all know what that is. Every team has that same goal, but not every team has the same chance of actually achieving that goal. So yeah, it’s exciting. I just want to do anything I can to help the team win, and hopefully we just continue the success.”
Bosa said he’s embracing the fresh start and the high expectations that come with joining a perennial contender. After years of injury setbacks and postseason frustrations, he believes the change of scenery and renewed focus on his health can help him return to form.
“I think I still have a lot left to give playing-wise, not just wisdom-wise,” Bosa said. “As long as I stay healthy like we’re talked about, which I’m going to do everything in my power to do that and be as helpful as I can to this team, I think I can go out there and have a great year.”