Since the height of free agency ended and the Patriots only signed one pass rusher to presumably make up for letting K'Lavon Chaisson walk instead of re-signing him, they have been connected to a number of defenders looking for a new team to play with for the 2026 season.
They were even linked to a trade for Maxx Crosby, before his move to the Ravens was unexpectedly reversed, and they are on the radar again as a team to make a blockbuster move for him ahead of this season's trade deadline.
In between all of that has been a constant connection to free agent Joey Bosa, who played for the Bills during the 2025 season. He is still considered one of the best talents available to sign, and because the Patriots still need some help on their defensive line, Bosa has been a name to watch.
The problem is that he hasn't been all that impressive over the last few years, and even worse, rumors continue to fly about his immediate NFL future. His brother, 49ers' star Nick Bosa, hinted that Joey isn't thinking much about football this offseason, and now NFL insider Adam Schefter just implied that he looks closer to retirement than playing this fall.
If that's not a sign that the Patriots made the right decision not to pursue him, then it's hard to say what is.
The Patriots were right to avoid pursuing Joey Bosa after hearing Adam Schefter's latest comments
During a recent episode of his podcast, Schefter spoke about the ongoing whispers about Bosa and where he will play in 2026.
Instead of sharing that there is a lot of interest from teams across the league, Schefter suggested that Bosa might have already played his final snap in the NFL, and the only thing that might change that is if the 49ers come calling.
“It is more likely than not that Joey Bosa has played his last NFL down. Now, again, could a situation like the 49ers come along that entices him enough to come out and play again? Yeah, absolutely. We saw it happen last year with Philip Rivers, so you never know when a player is fully done and when he’s not done.
But the fact of the matter is, I think if the Niners wanted to pair those two together, it probably would have happened already. I think if Joey Bosa wanted to play football, it probably would have happened already.”
As he says, things can certainly change, but at this moment, it doesn't look like Bosa is working with any sort of urgency to get back on the field, and teams aren't exactly lining up to call him, either.
The Patriots are fortunate they didn't show significant interest in getting him to Foxboro, despite how beneficial it could have been to have him on the defense. It would have been disastrous if they had signed Bosa, even on a one-year deal, and he had eventually decided to hang up his cleats instead.
If there were any lingering interest, the higher-ups would need to look elsewhere for pass-rush help. The hope is that they will do that, even if Mike Vrabel seems pleased with the group they currently have, but with the uncertainty surrounding rookie Gabe Jacas, they have more than enough reason to look at other free agents besides Bosa to help them out.
Whether they do so is difficult to say, but Patriots fans and analysts have made it clear they should. Luckily, they didn't go after Bosa, or they would be dealing with an entirely different issue ahead of training camp.
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