The veteran pass-rush market may have lost one of its biggest names.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Joey Bosa is unlikely to play in the 2026 season, even though he has not officially announced retirement. Schefter’s comments came during a discussion about whether Bosa could someday land with the San Francisco 49ers and join his younger brother, Nick Bosa.
"It is more likely than not that Joey Bosa has played his last NFL down," Schefter said. "Now, again, could a situation like the 49ers come along that entices him enough to come out and play again?
Yeah, absolutely. We saw it happen last year with Philip Rivers, so you never know when a player is fully done and when he's not done.
But the fact of the matter is, I think if the Niners wanted to pair those two together, it probably would have happened already. I think if Joey Bosa wanted to play football, it probably would have happened already."
That lines up with what Nick Bosa said earlier this offseason, when he said his older brother was not "thinking too much about football" and had been working on his golf game instead.
For Tampa Bay, the timing matters. Bosa had been one of the more appealing veteran edge options still sitting on the open market, even after the Buccaneers used the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Rueben Bain Jr. to address their biggest need at pass rusher. The door was still open for another veteran addition if the right fit showed up.
Bosa’s track record still carries weight. He has 72 sacks over nine seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers, then added five more in 2025 with the Buffalo Bills.
He may not be officially done, but Schefter’s read makes the road back look a lot narrower than it did earlier this offseason.
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