Getty Joey Bosa of the Chargers, subject of a Packers trade rumor
The Green Bay Packers enter the final three weeks of the NFL regular season in a position that most did not see coming, as the frontrunner for an NFC playoff spot. That’s an enviable place to be. But ultimately, the Packers will want more than simply making the playoffs, and with that in mind, the folks at Bleacher Report are already pushing Packers trade rumors to bolster the 2024 squad–one that lands the team star Chargers pass-rusher Joey Bosa.
Here’s what B/R’s Alex Ballentine wrote on the subject: “If the Packers are going to take a big swing in the trade market, it would be worth it to call the Chargers about Bosa. The Chargers are 5-8 this season and big changes could be coming.
“After a disappointing season it should be expected that Los Angeles will make some changes. They have four players set to make more than $32 million next season in Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Mike Williams. Keeping all of them might be too expensive.”
Could Extra Pick Fuel Packers Trade Rumors?
The move would be costly, as well as being completely out of character for the Packers as an organization and GM Brian Gutekunst specifically. The B/R Packers trade rumor has the team sending away their 2024 first-round pick to the Chargers for Bosa, meaning giving up a cost-controlled Top 20 player.
The Packers do own the Jets’ second-round pick, giving the team two picks in the Top 50. That could take the sting out of losing their top pick.
So could the talents of Joey Bosa, who is an eighth-year 28-year-old with four Pro Bowls on his record. Bosa has 67.0 sacks in his career, including 6.5 this year. He has a pass-rush grade of 80.3 this year at Pro Football Focus, and ranks 20th out of 109 players at his position.
Bosa is a risk, though. He has struggled with injury recently, missing all but five games in 2022 with groin surgery and currently on IR with a foot injury. He is not cheap, either. Bosa is in the third year of a five-year, $135 million contract he signed in 2020.
Joey Bosa Could Help Pass Rush
As Ballentine points out, though, it could be necessary for all Packers trade rumors to be explored this offseason if the team is to make good on its promise. The Packers are not exactly flush with cap space, but with a handful of transactions—most notably releasing tackle David Bakhtiari—the team could open up room for a major move.
And while the Packers defense has shown some improvement in fits and starts, it clearly needs to bump up its pass rush. The team ranks 23rd in the NFL with 2.2 sacks per game, and its pass rush is ranked 17th at PFF, with a grade of 72.3.
“The Packers have been at their most dominant when they’ve had two great pass rushers coming off the edge,” Ballentine wrote. “Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith and Rashan Gary formed a terrifying trio for opposing offenses for a few years before Za’Darius was released.
“Now, Preston Smith is 31 years old and the team has an out in his contract after this season. Rashan Gary has taken over the role of top pass-rusher on the team and Lukas Van Ness is still a promising prospect. Trading for a veteran with the ability to take over a game would get the Packers back to where they once were.”
It’s a gamble. But Bosa does make sense as that game-changing veteran.