Joey Bosa played a relatively light 20 snaps in his return to action in Week 8 against the New Orleans Saints. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said going into last week's game that a "snap count" was effectively the plan for the team's star edgerusher. Bosa appeared to be in some pain during the third quarter and ended up not returning to play in the fourth.
Harbaugh said in response to questions about his injury status earlier in the week that he wasn't aware of an injury aggravation. So far at least, Bosa (hip) seems on track to play vs. Cleveland. This week marks just the second in a row in which Bosa participated in every practice.
Harbaugh was asked on Friday by The Athletic's Daniel Popper about Bosa's snaps either staying the same as last week or potentially increasing. Saying his snaps "could push up" on Sunday, Harbaugh said that Bosa has had a "really good week" of practice.
But he didn't stop there. Harbaugh went out of his way to share more of his thoughts on some of the discussion surrounding LA's star pass rusher:
"Some of the talk, the chatter or whatever, that his best days are behind him-erroneous," Harbaugh said. "Joey Bosa is an athletic human freak in the best kind of way at the highest level. Guys like that, their best football is always ahead of them. It doesn't just stop. Takes a very long time. They fade away at some point, but it takes a long time for that to happen. He's had a good week. I'm looking forward to what's to come."
Chargers' Jim Harbaugh fires back at Joey Bosa's critics
While Harbaugh said he was "looking forward to what's to come", he knocked his hands on the podium like he was knocking on wood.
The reality is that the Chargers' pass rush looked incredible in the first two weeks of the season that Bosa was able to be out there. The coaching staff clearly hopes to be able to see that vision of their EDGE rushing room come together in games down the stretch of the season.
Hopefully, Bosa also looks better on Sunday than he did last week. On 17 pass rush snaps, Bosa was not able to get a pressure.
It was the first time in Bosa's nine-year career in which he played 20+ snaps and did not record a pressure, tackle, or run stop. Working with trainers on the sideline, it was evident that he still is playing through quite a bit of pain.
Bosa will look to take another step forward in his injury recovery against the Browns if he plays on Sunday. He currently is listed as questionable (hip).