This is ugly. Uglier than it ever should have been. Neither side should be proud of the entirety of its actions.
There is no denying the fiasco this has become between the Chargers and Joey Bosa.
Go ahead, let it all out. Opinions, curse words, guttural screams of frustration over why the Chargers seem to so often find themselves in these mires.
But don't lose sleep. Understand that it won't matter. This, too, shall pass.
Probably.
Teammates will embrace Joey Bosa. Fans will cheer him.
He has to sign. He has to perform. And he has to let it go, the same way hundreds of players all around the NFL have let it go before him, growing to see their teammates (not the owner) as their team.
If he does, everyone will move on.
Brian Ayrault, Bosa's agent, said Wednesday that the Chargers pulling their latest contract offer and detailing it for the masses inflicted damage.
Via a written statement, Ayrault said, "The team surely is not strengthening its relationship with Joey Bosa by taking this stance and making their position public."
OK, OK. We all say things.
The stuff that gets said _ mostly behind the scenes _ in these disputes is the same kind of thing that gets thrown out in squabbles every day all over the world. Things like "I'll never" and "unforgivable" and "the worst."
And then, yes, it passes.
As difficult as it is to fathom right now, as much as in the moment this appears to be as fractured as a relationship could get, practically irreparable, everyone should probably pull up a chair and listen to a tale about a crotchety old gunslinger.
On Aug. 9, 2004, after the Chargers made what they called their "final" offer to first-round pick Philip Rivers, then-general manager A.J. Smith stood before the media at training camp in Carson and said:
"We offered a great deal to Philip. We also notified his agent, Jimmy Sexton, that the offer will stand until 5 p.m. Sunday evening and, if not accepted, the offer would be pulled off the table. Our offer was rejected. This is very unfortunate and disappointing, but it is what it is. ... I hope I've made our position very clear. If he decides to sign a contract with the San Diego Chargers, then I'll be more than happy to talk about Philip Rivers."
Philip Rivers eventually signed that month and has signed two more extensions with the team.
That wasn't the only negotiation to go bad and then become a faded memory. Not just with the Chargers, either, contrary to a popular narrative.
Bosa can eventually get to work and make everyone love him. He can even have a good relationship with his employers.
LaDainian Tomlinson did not sign his rookie contract until Aug. 22. Three years later, the Chargers made him the highest-paid running back in history. Antonio Gates was suspended by the team for the first game of 2005 as a means of getting him to sign, and signed a rich deal with them five years later and then signed another contract this year. We could go on.
History all but assures this will work out similarly, or that Bosa will at least be welcomed into the family at some point.
However _ and at this point, given the latest social media post by his mother and his agent's statement and, more than anything, the unprecedented stance the Bosa camp has taken to this point, we can't rule it out _ there is the possibility this ends horribly.
In fact, Bosa has the power to make the image of the Chargers as fools as lasting as concrete.
Oh, can he ever flip this on the team. If he does, it would be too much to say the Chargers would never recover, but ...
If Bosa has the fortitude to delay his NFL career for a year _ forfeiting several million dollars and sacrificing a year of potential free agency _ he wins. He loses, for sure. But he wins this war. Like dropping an atomic bomb.
Bosa is not Bo Jackson, who refused to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after they selected him first overall in 1986. Bosa doesn't have the option to play baseball. But he could at least re-enter the draft next year.
The Chargers would essentially forfeit the No. 3 pick. They would get nothing for their 4-12 effort of 2016.
That's a look off which you can't wipe the ugly.
That would be so embarrassing it could make people forget about how embarrassing Ryan Leaf was.
(But, hey, the Chargers would save $26 million. They could sign Melvin Ingram and Danny Woodhead to extensions, pay Mark Fabiani's salary and maybe have a little left to launch the next stadium campaign.)
If that is how Bosa proceeds, you have to respect him. You can disagree with someone and still respect their stand.
It would be easier for him to come in and be the football player he says he wants to be.
Everything would be forgiven all around. Probably.
.jpg?w=600)
