SANTA CLARA — Veteran edge rusher Joey Bosa remains available on the NFL’s free-agent market.
But after amassing $156 million in 10 seasons of professional football, Bosa, who turns 31 in July, is set for life and has the luxury of proceeding on his own terms.
Until he signs with another team — or announces his retirement — there will be the possibility that Bosa could be on the same team as his younger brother, Nick, with the 49ers.
“I think he’s working on his golf game, so I don’t think he’s thinking too much about football,” Nick Bosa said of his brother on Thursday.
The 49ers’ biggest weakness last season was their pass rush. The team registered a league-low 20 sacks in 17 regular-season games.
The return of Nick Bosa from a season-ending torn ACL should provide a boost for the 49ers’ defensive line. San Francisco also selected pass-rush specialist Romello Height in the third round of the NFL Draft.
The 49ers’ top returner, Sam Okuayinonu, had just three sacks last season.
Meanwhile, Joey Bosa recorded five sacks and five forced fumbles in 15 games with the Buffalo Bills last season.
Coach Kyle Shanahan did not sound optimistic about the possibility of adding another Bosa to the roster as the 49ers opened organized team activities this week. He acknowledged that adding Joey Bosa is a topic at his house, too.
“I love signing good players,” Shanahan said. “But, I mean, my kids do Instagram and look at your guys’ stuff, so they ask me that all the time, too.
“I look at our team as we have our team, and anyone else that we can figure out to bring (in), especially someone like that, that’d be awesome. But that stuff’s not always possible.”
The 49ers are currently a league-high $70 million under the salary cap. Because unused cap space rolls over from one season to the next, San Francisco views it as a necessity to create that cushion to get the books in line for the 2027 season.
Joey Bosa earned $13.2 million from the Bills last season, and it appears unlikely the 49ers would be willing to fit a similar contract into their payroll this year.