The Buffalo Bills run a defensive system that relies heavily on its front four to generate pressure on the quarterback. This strategy has served the team well against most NFL clubs. However, when that group can’t generate pressure against certain clubs and their elite quarterbacks, they have struggled greatly. With that in mind, general manager Brandon Beane has remained on a continued quest to find a pass-rush group that can put pressure on quarterbacks when it matters most.
A few years back, the
Bills took a big swing on a big-name pass rusher when they signed future Hall of Famer Von Miller. That signing didn’t pan out, as Miller suffered a torn ACL and took a whole season to come close to his old form. This offseason, the Bills took another big swing on an elite edge, hoping that his long injury history is more a thing of the past.
In today’s installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss a man who will be looked upon to create havoc in opposing backfields.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Name: Joey Bosa
Number: 97
Position: DE
Height/Weight: 6’5”, 280 pounds
Age: 30 (31 on 7/11/2026)
Experience/Draft: 10; selected by the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers in the first round (No. 3 overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft
College: Ohio State
Acquired: Signed with Bills on 3/13/2025
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Bosa signed a one-year deal for $12.61 million. It’s almost fully guaranteed, as the Bills will carry a dead-cap charge of $12 million thanks to the guarantees if they release him. Bosa’s cap hit for the season is just $5.32 million. That’s because the contract includes four void years at cap hits of $7.2 million (2026) and $1.8 million (2027-2029).
2024 Recap: Bosa played in as many games last season (14) as he did during the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined. After establishing himself as one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers, notching 58 sacks in his first 78 games, a litany of injuries has kept Bosa from playing at his best. He suffered a core muscle injury in 2022 that required surgery and caused him to miss most of the regular season. Then, during the 2023 season, he missed time with a hamstring strain, a broken toe on his left foot, and a right foot sprain.
Last year, he missed three games with what the team termed a hip injury, but what Bosa called a glute strain. In spite of the injury, Bosa was named to his fifth Pro Bowl in 2024. He totaled 5 sacks, 22 tackles, five tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles. He had two tackles, one quarterback hit, and one sack in the Chargers’ 32-12 playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Positional outlook: Bosa is one of eight edge rushers on the current roster. Nelson Ceaser, Landon Jackson, Greg Rousseau, Paris Shand, Michael Hoecht, A.J. Epenesa, and Javon Solomon are the others.
2025 Offseason: Bosa is healthy and participating in practices this offseason. He saw limited action in Buffalo’s preseason matchup with the New York Giants, but did not play in the blowout loss at the Chicago Bears.
2025 Season outlook: Should he remain healthy, Bosa will add an element to Buffalo’s pass rush that they thought they had when they signed veteran Von Miller ahead of the 2022 season. Of course, that element was there when Miller was healthy, but after he tore his ACL in November 2022, Miller wasn’t the same player. The Bills are hopeful that Bosa, who is three years younger than Miller was when he signed that mega-contract, can provide enough pass-rush juice in year one to push the team to a Lombardi Trophy.
Buffalo can roll out plenty of disruptive combinations of four down linemen with the personnel they project to have. Bosa, Rousseau, and Epenesa can all kick inside to play a defensive tackle spot in obvious passing situations, which helps the Bills to design a “race car” personnel package of speedier defensive ends in those must-throw times.
If Bosa can play in all 17 games, it would be the first time since 2017 that he played an entire season. With that in mind, I expect that he’ll miss at least one contest during the season. The Bills are likely comfortable with that — as long as the games he misses aren’t in January.
If Bosa can help the Bills slay that big, red dragon in the Midwest, then it will all be worth it.
