The Los Angeles Chargers will once again come in to the upcoming season with lofty expectations with another year under star quarterback Justin Herbert's belt, but it will also be debut of head coach Jim Harbaugh. However, the team itself believes they can win a ton of games and achieve their ultimate goal, so much so that defensive players like Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa took pay cuts just to stay with the Chargers.
Some may question the decision from the two star edge rushers as they could have possibly received big money elsewhere and that Los Angeles finished last in the AFC West with a 5-12 record, but their No. 1 goal is to win a championship. On the other hand, Bosa and Mack are more in the twilight years of their careers than the peak which had the latter understand where he is in his football life and wants the “best chance to win” according to Elliot Teaford of The Los Angeles Daily News.
“A lot of things went into it, but ultimately, just understanding where I’m at in my career right now and the best chance to win, that’s what it came down to,” Mack said who is heading into his 11th season in the NFL, third with the Chargers. “I don’t have any years to waste. … That was an easy decision.”
Mack says the Chargers have “what it takes” to win a championship
Despite Mack being 33-years old, he statistically had his best season where he recorded a career-high 17 sacks to go along with five forced fumbles and 74 total tackles. He also played every game last season with a lot left in the tank where he chose to stick with the Chargers as “they've got what it takes.”
“Ultimately, it came down to wanting to win and this was the best team and the best chance,” he said. “There were a lot of different reasons, but understanding when you go to battle with somebody, you kind of know what you’re getting. … I know these guys (the Chargers), man, they’ve got what it takes.”
Mack says new Chargers coach in Jim Harbaugh is a “straight shooter”
In part of his pay cut, Mack had his salary reduced from $23.5 million to $19 million as he also can not be franchise tagged in 2025 according to NFL.com. What could have also helped with Mack's decision to stay in Los Angeles was the incoming of new head coach Jim Harbaugh where he revealed one of their first conversations involved the defensive star saying he “signed back here to win.”
“He’s a straight shooter,” Mack said. “I think one of the first conversations we had I let him know I signed back here to win. To win. I’m not coming on to play competitive football. I want to play meaningful football at the end of the year. So, that was pretty much our conversation.”
Joey Bosa took pay cut because he believes Chargers can win
While Mack has caused havoc for other teams like the Las Vegas Raiders and Chicago Bears, Joey Bosa has been with the Chargers for his whole eight-season career. It has been a tumultuous one as besides being immensely talented, he has dealt with multiple injury spells as going into his ninth season, all he cares about is winning.
“I want to win, I want to be on this team,” Bosa said. “I want another shot with the guys in this room, especially Khalil. And, yeah, that’s what it was. Winning football games is more important to me right now than making some extra money. We have a great opportunity here. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a great year this year.”
The 28-year old's pay cut was also in his salary from $22 million to $15 million, but it is fully guaranteed and “can still earn back $4 million through sack incentives” per Tom Pelissero. It was a “pretty easy decision” to stay with the Los Angeles team and take the pay cut for Bosa as he saw a player like Mack do the same thing which made him proud of the “culture we have brewing here.”
“I think if a guy like Khalil, coming off a year with 17 sacks, can take that (pay) cut, it shows the kind of guy he is and the kind of culture we have brewing here, and that’s who I want to be with,” Bosa said via The Los Angeles Daily News. “It was a pretty easy decision.”
Bosa cites the hiring of Harbaugh as a motivation to take pay cut
As mentioned before, it was a frustrating season for Bosa who only played in nine games where he said six and a half sacks with one forced fumble to go along with 20 total tackles. He would also credit taking the pay cut to the Chargers hiring Harbaugh as after an outstanding career with the University of Michigan, Bosa believes he could be the “final piece to figure this stuff out.”
“It’s definitely a factor that we’re bringing in maybe the final piece to figure this stuff out,” Bosa said on the topic of the hiring of Harbaugh. “I didn’t really get to talk to him too much before that decision was made, but, yeah, it definitely was a factor. (But also) just the guys on the team and my history here and the way things are trending in the right direction, I wanted to be here for this moment.”
Los Angeles' defense could be one to look out for in the NFL
If there is one person who is excited to have both Bosa and Mack back besides Harbaugh, it is Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. He would say to the media during the team's offseason activities that the edge room is a “huge strength of ours” according to Eric Smith of the team's website.
“To be able to have the edge room that we have now, I think it's a huge strength of ours,” Minter said. “You have guys that have played in this league at a really, really high level and done it for a long time. When those guys got here, I think the thing that I sort of respected the most was how they went about their business. They practiced the right way, they're a great example for the young players of how you want to become a veteran, how you want to become a pro. Just how they've worked and how they've attacked it — how they've been excited to learn is something that I'm certainly very appreciative of.”
“They have really wanted to know what we're doing, why we're doing it, how we're doing it, how we're going to set things up, how we're going to let them operate at times. ‘Let them cook,' so to speak,” Minter continued. “I'm really excited about them and appreciate the work that they've put in and look forward to seeing those guys out there in the fall.”
In any sense, the Chargers are looking to improve in a huge way as they are coming off of a 5-12 record which put them last in the AFC West. They will start their upcoming season at home against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Sept. 8.
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