Day 1 goes well for Joey Bosa

Joey Bosa’s lengthy holdout is now a distant memory in San Diego’s locker room.

Bosa completed his first practice on Tuesday after his contract gridlock and received positive reviews from members in the organization.

“It was great to get him here,” Chargers coach Mike McCoy said, according to the team’s official website. “We couldn’t wait to get him here, and he looked as expected (which is) in shape, (and) ready to roll.  (He’s) a guy who loves to play.  The energy, the passion he comes to work with every day. He was that way all day yesterday either in the weight room, in the meetings (or) no matter where it was.  You go out there and see it when he goes through individual drills (today).  He looked like the way he did when he left.”

The Chargers’ practice was merely a walk through, so there’s still a long road ahead for the No. 3 overall pick to get fully acclimated. Yet, Bosa’s teammates were encouraged to have the defensive end on the field.

“It was good to have Joey back,” Corey Liuget said.  “He wasn’t really saying much because he’s still a rookie so he is feeling his way through things.  It was good to see him out there working.  We could tell that he definitely had been working out while he was away.  That was obvious. He was in good shape.”

Bosa’s next step, in what he hopes to be a speedy process, is to practice with pads on. The former Ohio State star hasn’t put pads on since his last collegiate game on New Year’s Day. He knows going full gear will be an adjustment, although he believes he’ll be ready for it.

“I still haven’t put pads on, so I’m sure that is going to be the hardest thing to get adjusted to….(My teammates) have all been really cool with welcoming me back, so it’s been fun (today).”

San Diego wants Bosa on the field as soon as possible. The defensive end does plan on spending extra time with coaches in preparation for the season. He won’t play in the team’s final preseason game. Bosa could see limited action Week 1. Once he fully ingratiates himself, expect Bosa to start at defensive end.