COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa has found a new home in the NFL.
He has reportedly signed a one-year, $12.6 million deal with the Buffalo Bills, as he’ll change teams for the first time in his career. He spent nine years with the Los Angeles Chargers after being the third pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Bosa, in many ways, was the genesis of Larry Johnson’s historic run as the Buckeyes’ defensive line coach. He’d already established himself as a future star the year before Johnson’s arrival in 2013 when Mike Vrabel — now coaching the New England Patriots — was still an assistant in Columbus. The Florida native flashed his potential as a true freshman with 42 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
Then, Johnson unlocked the most productive version of himself.
Bosa built on that success in Year 2 with 55 tackles and a Big Ten-best 21 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. That sack number was second only to Vernon Gholston’s 14 in 2007 at the time. Chase Young — now with the New Orleans Saints — would top both of those numbers with 16.5 in 2019.
Bosa’s second-year success not only established him as one one the nation’s best defensive players. It played a major role in why OSU won the national championship in the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff. It would also raise the bar on the expectations for highly-recruited defensive ends at Ohio State. An expectation that would be met by his little brother Nick Bosa and Young over the next decade. He finished his career with 26 sacks, which is fourth in school history.
As a Pro, Bosa earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 and has made five Pro Bowls in nine seasons. He’s recorded 343 tackles, 87 tackles for loss, 72 sacks, 17 forced fumbles and 156 QB hits.
