Exploring the Idea of Pursuing Joey Bosa

The Miami Dolphins reportedly have strong interest in former third overall pick Joey Bosa

Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa (99) tackles Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi (23) during a NFL football game at StubHub Center in 2017. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins already have three first-round picks at the edge defender position, but they're apparently still not satisfied.

How else to explain Diana Russini of The Athletic reporting on X that Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa is expected to garner some interest from the Dolphins?

Reports suggested after the Chargers released Bosa nine years after making him the third overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft that he was very much interested in joining his brother Nick with the San Francisco 49ers.

Joey Bosa also has a connection with the Dolphins, however, because his father John was Miami's first-round pick in 1987 — out of Ohio State, like his two sons.

John Bosa's NFL career was derailed by injuries and he was done after three seasons that featured 31 games, 21 starts and seven sacks.

Because he was released, Bosa is not bound by the same rules as unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team at any time.

HOW BOSA WOULD (OR WOULD NOT) FIT

Bosa made $8 million in base salary last season, so he likely will not come cheap for any team that wants to sign him.

But it seems like a strange fit for the Dolphins.

Particularly after news of Bradley Chubb taking a significant pay cut late last week to bring down his cap number, a move that would suggest he's part of the team's plans in 2025.

The Dolphins also already have 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson coming off a very impressive second half of his rookie season, plus 2021 first-round selection Jaelan Phillips looking to bounce back from his 2024 ACL injury, which of course followed his 2023 Achilles injury.

Unless the Dolphins have something in mind with any of their current edge defenders, it doesn't seem as though the position is screaming with a big-ticket addition but rather for a solid mid-level veteran to protect in case Chubb and/or Phillips can't regain their previous form.

Bosa also is a player who has dealt with injuries in recent years, missing 23 games over the past three seasons.

And while he still flashes his first-round ability, the reality is that Bosa didn't top 6.5 sacks in any of the past three years after reaching double digits four times in his first six NFL seasons.

The Chargers absorbed a cap hit of $11 million of dead money to get Bosa off their books, a move they likely wouldn't have made if he were still a high-end performer.

The Dolphins have $28 million of cap space after the Chubb and Terron Armstead contract restructures, but they have a lot of players to sign or re-sign and they're more likely to take a volume approach in free agency.

And if they do sign a big-ticket player, it doesn't make a ton of sense to do it as a position where they do have talent and numbers, especially for a veteran in the second half (if not the fourth quarter) of his career.

So we'll just say that Dolphins interest in Joey Bosa certainly makes for a good headline, but it really might not be the most logical move for the team.

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