Bosa placed on Chargers injured reserve but should return this season

Four-time Pro Bowl selection Joey Bosa has been placed on the Los Angeles Chargers' injured reserve but head coach Brandon Staley says he will return this season.

The Chargers 27-year-old edge rusher suffered a groin tear early in Sunday's 38-10 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Head coach Brandon Staley earlier this week said Bosa's injury was "significant" in another blow for the Chargers who are 1-2 this season, with left tackle Rashawn Slater also placed on injured reserve with a likely season-ending biceps tendon rupture.

The Chargers have been playing without top wide receiver Keenan Allen (hamstring), center Corey Linsley (knee) and cornerback J.C. Jackson (ankle) due to injuries. Quarterback Justin Herbert has been playing through a rib injury too.

"It's going to be a ways, but we expect him to come back," Staley told reporters about Bosa who will require surgery.

"He's optimistic and ready to attack it. He's in a really good frame of mind. It's never easy when you have an injury like that."

Bosa has been an impact pass rusher since entering the NFL as the third overall selection of the 2016 draft. The seventh-year veteran led the Chargers with 10.5 sacks in 2021, the fourth time he’s reached double digits in that category for his career.

Second-year pro Chris Rumph II along with veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy are likely to step in during Bosa's absence.

"He's ready to play on the edge," Staley said of Rumph.