Former third-overall pick Joey Bosa is still a free agent, but recent reports indicate he could join his brother on the San Francisco 49ers. An elite prospect coming out of Ohio State, Bosa terrorized opposing offenses with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers for nine seasons before joining the Buffalo Bills in 2025. While he didn’t have the best season of his career, he still finished the campaign with five sacks, 29 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, a league-best five forced fumbles, and a 74.6 PFF grade, the 29th-best mark in the league.
Now entering his age-31 season, Joey Bosa has lost a step and is no longer the unstoppable force he was at the beginning of his career. However, he’s still a solid player and is worthy of an NFL roster spot, even though he hasn’t signed as of this posting. Several teams should be interested in him, but Yardbarker’s Colton Edwards believes the 49ers are the best fit for Joey Bosa.
“Pairing Bosa with his brother Nick, who is recovering from an ACL tear, would create a formidable edge duo for a team that ranked dead last with just 20 sacks in 2025,” Edwards writes. “The 49ers, who signed wide receiver Mike Evans but lost depth on the line, are comfortable with injury risks and could use Bosa in a rotational role to boost their pass rush.”
Joey Bosa Projected to Join Brother, Nick, on San Francisco 49ers
Uniting the Bosa brothers in San Francisco would be the ultimate high-risk, high-reward move. On the one hand, both players offer 10-sack potential and could be the league’s most unstoppable duo if they stay healthy. However, that’s a big ‘if.’
As Edwards mentioned above, Nick Bosa is currently recovering from an ACL injury he suffered midway through the 2025 season. It’s too early to say whether or not he’ll be ready for Week 1, but even if he is, he’ll probably need some time to knock off the dust. Joey, meanwhile, stayed relatively healthy during his lone season in Buffalo but has an extensive injury history. Bosa missed 23 games in his final three seasons with the Chargers, and players don’t tend to get healthier once they reach their 30s.
The 49ers have $42.4 million in cap space right now, so they have the financial freedom to sign Joey Bosa to a medium-risk, high-reward contract. San Francisco plays in arguably the league’s toughest division, so it makes sense for them to shoot for the high-upside options as they fight to win a challenging division.
Main Photo: Jeff Lange – Imagn Images
