He is now an unrestricted free agent and still does not have a job.
He turns 31 in July.
The market for a 30-year-old edge rusher with a history of injuries and a body of work that includes 77 career sacks, 96 tackles for loss, and 172 quarterback hits across ten NFL seasons has proven to be slower than anyone expected, and three teams continue to surface in the conversation as the most logical fits.
Buffalo Bills
The team that employed Bosa last year is the natural starting point.
Buffalo brought him in as the biggest splash of their 2025 offseason and got legitimate production in return.
He tied a Bills franchise record with five forced fumbles, applied consistent pressure as a pass rusher, and gave Josh Allen a credible defense to work alongside.
The complication is the Bills' cap situation.
🚨 The #49ers reportely earlier this offseason spoke to former #Bills DE Joey Bosa and could not get a deal done due to the financials of the contract.
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) April 26, 2026
The Niners have cleared cap space now and can make Bosa a more lucrative offer, who said he would not take a discount to play… pic.twitter.com/1uGqJxUxBP
Unless Buffalo creates significant room or Bosa is willing to take a decent discount from his previous deal, the financial path back there is narrow.
The Bills did not prioritize retaining him in the initial free agency period, which sent a signal about where he falls on their current rebuild priorities.
But as the market has moved slowly and Bosa remains unsigned, a return at a reduced number cannot be entirely ruled out.
San Francisco 49ers
The Bosa brothers reunion story has followed this offseason from the moment Joey became a free agent in March, and for understandable reasons.
The San Francisco 49ers were last in the NFL with 20 sacks in 2025.
Bryce Huff retired at 27.
Nick Bosa and his younger brother were high school teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, and their mother has been openly vocal about wanting them on the same team.
CBS Sports' Mike Renner identified San Francisco as the ideal landing spot, pointing to their fourth-most cap space in the NFL and Joey's 47 pressures last season as reasons the fit makes sense.
🚨🚨Free Agent Joey Bosa has been linked to the #Bills #49ers and #Bengals pic.twitter.com/jFh6FjKXSk
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) May 6, 2026
The obstacle is the price.
49ers GM John Lynch was direct about the gap when asked about a potential signing. "I know that would make Mama Bosa happy, but I don't know if we can afford him," Lynch said.
NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco acknowledged this past week that Bosa remains an option as long as he is unsigned, but noted a signing should not be expected given the financial mismatch.
The 49ers used a third-round pick on edge rusher Romello Height in the draft and signed Osa Odighizuwa to bolster their defensive front, suggesting they are not counting on Bosa to solve their pass rush problem.
The door is not closed. It is just not fully open either.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals have been one of the league's worst defensive teams for years, and while they addressed the interior line significantly by trading for Dexter Lawrence, the pass rush without Trey Hendrickson remains a genuine concern.
TWSN's Matt Levine identified Cincinnati as a logical landing spot because Bosa, in a rotational role, could provide a pass rush depth option that a team targeting a Super Bowl run cannot simply manufacture from within.
Bosa's usage in Buffalo, where he played 64 percent of snaps rather than an every-down workload, is the model the Bengals would likely follow.
The question is whether Cincinnati can structure a deal that works for Bosa given his asking price has not aligned with what teams have been willing to offer throughout the spring.
Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
