The night before Joey Bosa agreed to his one-year, $12.5 million contract with the Buffalo Bills, many believed the five-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher was destined to head to San Francisco to join his brother Nick with the 49ers.
But apparently something happened last-minute that changed Bosa’s mind and brought him to Buffalo, and now fans might know what it was.
During his introductory press conference with Bills media, Bosa was asked why he chose Buffalo, to which he responded by telling reporters a story about MVP quarterback Josh Allen reaching out to him and hitting him with some strong persuasive tactics.
“Why did I choose the Bills? If you asked me a week ago, I would not have an answer for you,” Bosa said.
“… Josh [Allen] texted me that if we do what we set out to do, we can really be immortalized in this town. That's what it's all about is winning, winning a championship. And that's, I thin, why people are here.”
At 29, Bosa is likely nearing the backend of his career.
He’s made five Pro Bowls, won Defensive Rookie of the Year, and been to the playoffs three times, but he has just one playoff win and zero championships to show for what’s been a pretty strong NFL career so far.
And so it appears the allure of potentially winning the first-ever Super Bowl championship in Buffalo with a team that boasts the reigning MVP at QB and many have felt was just one or two pieces away from being a title contender for the last few years seemingly too good for Bosa to pass up right now.
Bosa is an immediate upgrade on the other side of the Bills’ defensive line opposite Greg Rousseau, who signed a four-year, $80 million extension in March. Rousseau led the team with 63 pressures, 37 hurries and eight sacks last season, per Pro Football Focus.
Bosa himself had five sacks plus 34 pressures and 19 hurries in 14 games in Los Angeles. He’s logged five or more sacks in eight of his nine seasons, hitting double-digit sack totals in four of them.
