The NFL is a fickle business. One season you're a prominent member of a team with Super Bowl aspirations in the LA Chargers; the next, you are knocking on the door of retirement.
The 2026 season is right around the corner and at this point, if a player isn't signed to a roster they probably won't see the field this season. For some it goes beyond the 2026 season, it also marks the potential end of their playing career.
Headlined by a multiple-time Pro Bowler, there are three recognizable former Chargers who played prominent roles in recent years who are almost certainly heading to retirement.
Joey Bosa
Joey Bosa's days in the NFL may be over. Adam Schefter alluded to Bosa's potential retirement back in June and nothing has changed with the calendar turning to September. Anything can happen, but it certainly seems more likely than not that Bosa has played his last NFL down.
This isn't wholly surprising to Chargers fans who watched Bosa's career unfold. He spent a decade in the league filled with injuries that kept him from ever truly becoming one of the best pass rushers in the game. With $156 million in career earnings, Bosa has nothing else to play for other than a Super Bowl run.
That, along with the potential of playing alongside his brother, keeps the door cracked for Bosa to return to the NFL. There is a world in which Bosa didn't want to practice in training camp and is looking to stay fresh for a Super Bowl-hungry team (hopefully the 49ers if he wants to play with his brother) in November and December.
That route is certainly possible, but it would take the stars aligning in the perfect way for Bosa to spring to action. At this point, it seems more likely that his playing days are over.
Will Dissly
The Chargers signed Will Dissly to a three-year contract ahead of the 2024 season in a move that was mostly applauded by fans and pundits alike. Dissly brought a blocking dynamic that didn't exist in the Chargers' tight end room at the time. This was important as the team transitioned to the Jim Harbaugh era.
Dissly was fine his first season in LA and even contributed more in the passing game than expected. That was more of an indictment about the talent Justin Herbert had to throw the football to, but it was still a positive for Dissly.
Then the wheels fell off in 2025. Dissly missed time with an injury and once he returned he was forgotten about in favor of Oronde Gadsden II. It wasn't hard to see why the Chargers deprioritized Dissly when he did see the field though: he was noticeably a step slower and was not longer even an average blocker.
This prompted the Chargers to release Dissly to save salary-cap space this past offseason. With no team knocking on Dissly's door in the five months he's been available, he too might be heading straight to retirement.
Morgan Fox
While he wasn't a star by any means, Morgan Fox was widely successful during his run with the Chargers. Brought in as a pass-rushing specialist on the interior, Fox suited his role nicely and earned a decent payday last offseason as a result.
The Atlanta Falcons signed Fox to a two-year, $8.5 million contract but never actually got anything out of the pass-rushing lineman. Fox was released in late August as part of the roster cutdown just five months after he signed with the Falcons.
Fox eventually landed on the Buffalo Bills practice squad midway through the 2025 season and played just 11 total snaps in one game. Less than two full years after his successful Chargers' tenure, Fox remains a free agent and doesn't appear to be finding a landing spot anytime soon.
There's simply too much young talent in the league on the interior defensive line for Fox to find his place on an NFL roster. An early retirement ahead of his age-32 season seems likely.
Add us as a preferred source on Google