Joey Bosa Holdout A Bad Omen For San Diego Chargers

It was a surprise when the San Diego Chargers took Joey Bosa with their 3^rd overall pick. As time goes on, they may be starting to regret that decision.

The Ohio State defensive end is the last 1^st round pick of the 2016 NFL draft class to go un-signed and his holdout has now stretched into training camp. While his representatives insist everything is being done to work out an agreement, concern continues to mount that every moment the young pass rusher is not practicing will only hurt him and the team once the season starts in September. Worse still, sources close to the situation indicate no agreement is close.

Joey Bosa and the #Chargers are far apart, and there is a lot of history to suggest they'll remain so for a while: https://t.co/lPiwfFOsGD
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) July 31, 2016

For a team that has high expectations for the season and a coaching staff who knows they’re behind the 8-ball, this is not the way the team wants to kick things off. It’s a bad sign no matter what angle is viewed from. Not only does it shine an unwelcome light on the team, it also shows that Bosa may have misplaced priorities. In other words he’s too focused on the money and not on being a successful football player.

Unfortunately the history of 1^st round picks who have held out for extended periods of time is not a welcome one. Here is a brief list of notable names.

Dee Milliner – New York Jets
Jamarcus Russell – Oakland Raiders
Cedric Benson – Chicago Bears
Michael Crabtree – San Francisco 49ers
Kelly Stouffer – St. Louis Cardinals

They all play different positions and come from different eras, but they do share something in common. Every name on that list came in far below the expectations set for them. Russell was a disaster in Oakland. Milliner has barely played due to health problems. Benson ran into injury and legal troubles. Crabtree has just one 1,000-yard season. Stouffer held out an entire season and followed that with a mediocre career.

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Suffice to say the list of 1^st round holdouts that still found success is not very long, which doesn’t bode well for the San Diego Chargers and their future with Joey Bosa. Experts questioned their picking him not just because of the questionable scheme fit but also his personality. Though his talent is doubtless, Bosa did run into problems off the field in college. There were rumors of a heavy partying lifestyle.

That doesn’t mean the problems persist in that department, but it does show that football might not be Bosa’s top priority, hence the push for more money.

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It was a surprise when the San Diego Chargers took Joey Bosa with their 3rd overall pick. As time goes on, they may be starting to regret that decision.

More from NFL Mocks

It was a surprise when the San Diego Chargers took Joey Bosa with their 3^rd overall pick. As time goes on, they may be starting to regret that decision.