Joey Bosa is in the building.
At last.
The Chargers have signed their No. 3 overall pick, sources said Monday morning. He is in San Diego, set to have his first practice with the team Tuesday. Bosa had been absent from the club since mid-June, as the team and his agent worked to settle a contract dispute that largely centered on the payout of his signing bonus.
The dispute has been settled.
Bosa has a chance now to be on the field Sept. 11 for the season opener against the Chiefs. His role, however, could be limited initially as he works himself into football shape; he is not ready to go 60 defensive snaps. It is possible that Darius Philon will start at left defensive end while Bosa, 21, works in the Chargers' sub-packages. All of that will be determined in advance of the opener.
The key thing for the Chargers was to get Bosa here first.
A critical development in closing the cap between the two sides was a switch of the agent who led Bosa's negotiations, sources said. The change came after Chargers President of Football Operations John Spanos went public last Wednesday, saying the team had made its best offer and agent Brian Ayrault had turned it down. Spanos vowed that the team's offer would only reduce from there. In the days that followed the hard-line stance, a transfer occurred from Ayrault to Todd France, both of whom work for CAA and co-represent Bosa. "Good cop, bad cop," one source called it, referring to CAA's negotiation tactic.
From there, negotiations restarted to some degree.
On Sunday morning, before the team kicked off against the Vikings at 10 a.m. PT, the Chargers and France agreed to a deal largely resembling the team's "best offer" from last week, a deal that features 85 percent cash payout of Bosa's $17 million signing bonus, or about $14.45 million, this calendar year, sources said. The rest will be deferred to next March. Roster bonus language was a notable difference, a source said, from last week's offer.
Neither France nor Ayrault returned a call seeking comment.
Spanos declined comment on the agent movement or contract specifics.
"I prefer to keep the details quiet, but I would like to thank Todd France for his professionalism and his help in getting this deal done," Spanos said.
