Twelve years ago, the father of quarterback Eli Manning made known before the draft his son’s lack of interest in playing for the Chargers, who held the first pick in the draft. So the Chargers drafted Eli and then traded him for Philip Rivers and draft picks.
The mother of defensive end Joey Bosa regrets not making the same move.
As noticed by SDBoltReport.com (via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune), Cheryl Bosa vented her frustrations regarding the franchise on Sunday.
“It bums me out for him so much,” she wrote on Facebook. “Wish we pulled an Eli Manning on draft day.”
The sentiment underscores the animosity that has emerged due to an impasse over offset language and signing-bonus deferral that resulted in the Chargers not responding to the latest proposal from Bosa’s camp for 10 days and counting. It also hints at the possibility of Bosa sitting out the entire year, refusing to sign with the Chargers in the offseason, and then re-entering the draft.
The only problem with that approach is that Bosa likely wouldn’t be picked No. 3 or higher after a year of no football, especially since he’d remain the exclusive property of the Chargers until the draft begins. Thus, the contract he’d get in 2017 would be worth much less than the one he could get right now. If Bosa sits out the full season, his best hope would be to force a trade after the season for a contract similar to the one he currently won’t accept.
Technically, a trade can happen before Tuesday. As one source with knowledge of the situation told PFT on Sunday afternoon, however, it’s highly unlikely that any team retained enough rookie pool space to accommodate Bosa’s contract in 2016.
Ideally, the two sides would find a way to compromise that allows each to believe it emerged with a win. Otherwise, each side will likely emerge in time with a loss.