Now all of Chargers’ Nation can finally get back to football.
The #Chargers and Joey Bosa reached a 4-year, $25.8M contract, source said. He gets a $17M signing bonus. It's all fully guaranteed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 29, 2016
The long, excruciating Joey Bosa contract saga has come to an end. And it couldn’t have come soon enough. Just last week, our followers saw the end to this story being Joey Bosa re-entering the 2017 NFL Draft.
Joey Bosa turned down the Chargers' "best offer" this week. How will this holdout end? #NFL
— Best NFL Polls (@Best_NFL_Polls) August 25, 2016
There were people supporting both camps: Joey Bosa for fighting for the contract he felt he deserved and the Chargers for not giving in and changing the way they have done contracts in the past. But there was also a wide range of sentiments in between. 29% of our voters even suggested moving on from the 3rd overall pick and trading him before the August 9th deadline.
Joey Bosa still unsigned. What would you do as Chargers GM? #Chargers #rookie #GetBackToFootball
— Best NFL Polls (@Best_NFL_Polls) August 9, 2016
Now that Bosa is under contract and ready to play football, the question is… well… is he ready to play football?
Of course, you can’t dismiss his natural talent and his ability to make game-changing plays like this one picked out by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah:
Joey Bosa wins inside and outside. Love the awareness and use of hands. https://t.co/DgXhkVw3qP
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) November 18, 2015
At the same time, despite the calls for fewer (or no more) preseason games and the trend toward less contact-heavy practices in the offseason, there is a need for contact and a need to get into football shape. You just can’t get into football shape solely in the weight room or on the track. You need to hit and get hit. You need to push your muscles in a way the weight room can’t as you try to get past that offensive lineman and to the quarterback as the clock winds down with the game on the line. In most cases, it is hard to get to that point in a few days of practice and one preseason game, regardless of natural talent or ability.
Votes are still coming in as I write this (vote if you haven’t!), but it is surprising to see that over 90% of our voters feel like while Joey Bosa’s dragged-out contract dispute got him fully-guaranteed money, it cost him his shot at making a much-needed immediate impact for a weak Chargers defense.
#Chargers & Bosa FINALLY agree to contract. After missing a lot of valuable time, what kind of impact will he have?
— Best NFL Polls (@Best_NFL_Polls) August 29, 2016
Only time–and game tape–will tell how much of an impact Bosa can have for the Chargers this year.
We’ll find out soon enough.
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