Former Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Joey Bosa during an NFL game.
TheSanFrancisco49ersmaynothavebeenasseriousaboutArnoldEbiketieassomefanshoped,butafarmorerecognizablenameisnowfirmlyontheradar:JoeyBosa.Thatwasthetakeawayafter49ersreporterDavidLombardiwrote, “Don’tthinkEbiketiewasasinplayforthe49ersasfanswantedhimtobe.KeepaneyeopenforJoeyBosathough.”
ThatisapromisingupdateforSanFranciscobecausethe49ersstillhavearealneedontheedge,andthetimingmattersnow.BryceHuffannouncedhisretirement,whileNickBosaisworkingbackfromthetornACLthatendedhis2025seasoninSeptember,leavingSanFranciscowithreasontokeeplookingforpass-rushhelpaheadofthenextphaseofrosterbuilding.
Don't think Ebiketie was as in play for the 49ers as fans wanted him to be. Keep an eye open for Joey Bosa though https://t.co/dSA8b5YUbc
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 13, 2026
49ersRumors:ReporterDavidLombardiSaysto “KeepanEyeOpenforJoeyBosa”
Lombardi’swordingstopsshortofsayingadealisclose,butitisstillnotablebecauseitnarrowstheconversationaroundaspecificveteranwhofitsthe49ers’immediateneed.JoeyBosaisalsostillunsignedaftercompletingaone-yearstintwiththeBuffaloBills,andBuffalo’srecentadditionofBradleyChubbmakesareturntherelooklesslikely.
Forthe49ers,theappealisobvious.EvenaftertradingfordefensivetackleOsaOdighizuwa,SanFranciscostillneedsmorejuiceofftheedge,especiallywithuncertaintyaroundhowquicklyNickBosawillbebacktofullstrengthandhowmuchtheteamwantstoleanonyoungeroptions.AJoeyBosasigningwouldnotjustbeaboutnamevalue.ItwouldbeaboutaddingaprovenpassrushertostabilizesnapsoppositeNickBosaanddeepentherotation.
JoeyBosaStats
EvenifJoeyBosaisnolongerinhispeak-Chargersyears,theproductionisstilleasytosell.NFLstatsshowhehad5sacksin15gamesforBuffaloin2025,andheentersfreeagencywith77careersacks.Earlierinhiscareer,heposteddouble-digitsacksinfourdifferentseasons,including12.5in2017,11.5in2019and10.5inboth2016and2021.
ThatmattersforSanFranciscobecausethiswouldnotneedtobeasuperstar-carrying-the-defensemove.The49erswouldsimplyneedJoeyBosatogivethemqualitypass-rushreps,finishpressures,andmakelifeeasierforNickBosaandtheinteriorrush.
WhyJoeyBosaMakesSenseforthe49ersRightNow
Thevalueaddhereisrostertiming.Huff’sretirementopenedupmoreurgencyontheedge,andthe49ersarealreadyreshapingthefrontwithOdighizuwa.AddingJoeyBosawouldgivethemaveteranbridgewhileNickBosacompleteshisrecoveryandwhileyoungerrusherssettleintotheirroles.
Thereisalsotheobviousfamilyangle,butthiswouldbeaboutfootballfirst.JoeyBosastillprofilesasameaningfulrotationalrusher,andSanFranciscoisinaspotwhererotationalhelpcanmatteralot.
BosaBrothers Reunion
ThebrotherstorylinewouldinstantlybecomeoneofthebiggestintheNFL.NickandJoeyBosahavealreadymadeleaguehistorytogetherbefore;NFLResearchpreviouslynotedtheysetarecordformostsacksbybrothersinasingledaywheneachhadatleastonesackbackin2019.
Thatalonewouldmakethemoveheadline-worthy,butthefootballcaseisstrongerthanthenovelty.Pairingthebrotherswouldgivethe49ersamajorstoryandapotentiallyusefulpass-rushtandematatimewhentheystillneedhelpupfront.
Whathappensnext?
Watchwhetherthe49ersmakeanotheredgemovequicklyorletJoeyBosa’smarketdevelop.Thenextfollow-upsareobvious:contractprojection,depth-chartimpactoppositeNickBosa,fanreactiontoapossibleBosabrotherspairing,andwhetherSanFranciscoviewsJoeyBosaasastarterorasituationalpassrusher.