Joey Bosa finds himself in a prove-it year with the Buffalo Bills after being released by the LA Chargers over the offseason. While the Chargers had the funds to keep Bosa around, the team freed up the cap space to re-sign Khalil Mack by cutting Bosa.
This has understandably put a chip on Bosa's shoulder. The Pro-Bowl edge rusher believes he is now in a great situation in Buffalo not just to compete for a Super Bowl, but to maximize his production as well.
Bosa appears to be a new man in Buffalo and it has led him to do something that he only did one time in his career with the Chargers, and it was eight years ago: play in the preseason. Bosa logged 12 snaps in the Buffalo Bills' preseason loss on Saturday and expressed after the game the benefits of actually logging preseason snaps.
Today was Joey Bosa's first preseason game in six or seven seasons. That's pretty wild. Thought he looked good in limited action. Definitely noticed how he could help this defense and give Rousseau a more explosive running mate #BillsMafia @WKBW pic.twitter.com/RkpVx5HRxy
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) August 9, 2025
Bills' Joey Bosa last played a preseason game in 2017 with the Chargers
For various reasons, Bosa only suited up in the preseason one time in his entire tenure with the Chargers. That came in his sophomore season where, according to Pro Football Focus, Bosa played 52 total snaps across three preseason games.
Bosa didn't play in the preseason in his rookie year due to a contract holdout over guaranteed money that bled into his production in the regular season. In 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 he either didn't play the preseason because of injury concerns or because of trepidation from his head coach. There was no preseason in 2020.
It's important to note that the 2017 season was arguably the best of Bosa's entire career. He set a career-high in sacks with 12.5 and has not replicated that number since. According to PFF, he also finished with a career high in pressures with 75.
To compare, Bosa finished with 81 combined pressures across his last three seasons with the Chargers.
This is a good omen for the Bills and perhaps it is a solution that can get Bosa back on the right track. Of course, this is assuming that he doesn't get hurt in the preseason if he plays again. Bosa does not have the cleanest track record with his health and playing him in the preseason is inherently risky.
However, if history repeats itself in a positive way, then Chargers fans will be left wondering what could have been if the team actually gave him reps in the preseason. The Bills obviously see the benefit of it, and history says it will work out.