San Diego Chargers: Antonio Gates Sounds Off On Joey Bosa
By Erik Lambert
One of the most puzzling situations ahead of the NFL preseason is the ongoing standoff between the San Diego Chargers and 1st round pick Joey Bosa.
After going through minicamps and OTAs without a hitch with the team, the former Ohio State edge rusher has been a no-show at any training camp practices and looks like he plans to extend that holdout into the preseason. It seems there is a definite divide between his representatives and the Chargers front office regarding his rookie contract. Bosa is currently the only 1st rounder who is left unsigned.
It seems the impasse is centered around two factors. San Diego wants to include offset language in the contract. This essentially means they would save money if they chose to cut the player after a certain amount of time. For example if that player is still owed $4 million by the original team but signs a contract for $4 million elsewhere, that original team then owes nothing.
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The other key part of the issue is the fact that the Chargers want to defer half of the contract signing bonus to 2017. Bosa apparently is not open to either option. He doesn’t want offset language and wants all his signing bonus up front. Hence the ongoing stalemate. It’s creating an unwanted distraction for a team that is under lots of pressure to win this season.
Veteran tight end Antonio Gates understands what the rookie is trying to accomplish, but he also knows that at some point this issue is going to hurt everyone involved.
"“My advice to any player that’s going through any kind of contract situation is that, at one point, you’ve got to be a man and you’ve got to understand that you’ve got to get ready to play.“Eventually, I ended up saying, ‘I need to get ready.’ To me, it meant a lot for me to go out and perform.”"
Gates is almost a lock for the Hall of Fame after he retires, so what he has to say in regards to a player becoming great in the NFL means a lot. Joey Bosa is not entirely to blame for this situation but at some point he has to think any further delay of getting on the field to practice and prepare is going to seriously hurt him in the long run. History shows that more often than not prolonged holdouts don’t end well.