Could star edge rusher Joey Bosa come home to Dolphins in free agency?

A homecoming for Joey Bosa, the star veteran NFL pass rusher and Fort Lauderdale native, to the Miami Dolphins could be within the realm of possibility.

Bosa, a local high school football product of St. Thomas Aquinas who turns 30 on July 11, was released by the Los Angeles Chargers last week after nine seasons with the franchise, immediately making him available to sign with another team ahead of Monday’s start to free agency.

While widely speculated he could unite with his brother, Nick Bosa, with the San Francisco 49ers, a report from The Athletic on Sunday night said “he is expected to garner strong interest from the Dolphins.”

Bosa is a five-time Pro Bowl selection, including last season, but he last had double-digit sacks in 2021. He has 72 sacks in nine NFL seasons, reaching double figures in four of his first six professional campaigns since entering the league out of Ohio State as the No. 3 pick in the 2016 draft.

Early in the 2022 season, Bosa suffered a significant groin tear that caused him to miss 12 games. In November 2023, a foot sprain sidelined him for the rest of the year.

The Chargers managed his workload last season, and his lower snap count made him a cut candidate at his high-priced salary. He signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension in 2020, and his release saved Los Angeles $25.36 million toward the salary cap.

Bosa also started his career as the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, when the Chargers were still in San Diego.

The younger Bosa brother, Nick, has also made five Pro Bowls in six NFL seasons with the 49ers, accumulating 62 ½ sacks. The two are sons of John Bosa, the Dolphins’ 1987 first-round draft pick who played three NFL seasons as a defensive end. They are also nephews to Eric Kumerow, Miami’s first-round pick in the following season, and cousins to former Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Jake Kumerow.

The Dolphins have a strong group of edge defenders coming back for the 2025 season, especially after locking in a revised contract for Bradley Chubb last week. They have a strong trio of Chubb, Jaelan Phillips and rising second-year player Chop Robinson in place, but Chubb is coming back from missing the entire 2024 season rehabbing a knee injury and Phillips is returning from a torn ACL of his own last September.

Miami, which can continue to develop 2024 fifth-round pick Mohamed Kamara, also has Emmanuel Ogbah and Tyus Bowser as its own veteran free agents it could bring back on the edge. The team opted not to bring back Quinton Bell this offseason.