2023 Official Charger Draft - Post Draft Discussion (Daily Links In OP)

[Boltnut]

if Staley is still here, he likes value, and think this guy may be the best value outta your bunch, and....

interesting comment from a Green Bay friend of mine and where their DC was formerly Staley's LB coach when he was DC, and.... apparently dude does not adapt his scheme well to his personnel, and his star sideline 2 sideline LB, who just signed a hefty new FA contract, is doing none of the such, and Stokes is left playing shallow zone, which isn't maximizing his skill set either....

if Tranquil goes, which kind of LB does Staley covet, or.... is there a new HC for team Tommy John to appease ??

Tranquill is having a tough year. Staley needs LB's that play their assignments better. I'm surprised we haven't seen more of Reeder.
They don't have to be flashy. High football IQ. Able to drop into coverage. Sure tacklers.

[Fouts2herbert]

Both KA and Khalil Mack have big cap numbers for 2023 and 2024. Maybe they get re-structured...?
I'd like to see how well each player does for the remainder of the year before doing anything.
Same goes for all of the players scheduled to be FA's at year's end.
Feiler and Vato can be released for additional savings.
We are $13 million over the cap for 2023.
Tough decisions are coming.

they just restructured Mack…the chargers don’t like to add voidable years and extend dead cap hits into the future…

I’m not saying this to be cruel, but there is no way they are restructuring KA, maybe if he was 28-29, I’ve heard people claim that his play style lends itself to longevity but I’ve never bought into that theory…every player has a shelf life and they are all unique and different…the violent cuts that KA has been making for a decade take a toll on feet, ankles, toes, knees, hips, etc…and KA was like james brown of WRs, he was the hardest working man inshow business of football, he wasn’t the type to take plays off and he also trained year round…just because he wasn’t a jump ball guy doesn’t mean he’ll play another 5 years at his customary standard…last year his play dipped a bit, he dropped a lot of balls, and he missed a little time too, this year he’s played all of one half of football since the season started…

the only restructure in KA’s future is probably the pay cut variety, the type that happens when an older player is interested in retiring with the team that drafted him…it’s a paycut restructure with large portion or most of the reduced remaining money fully guaranteed…it can benefit both sides if it’s a friendly mutual thing, and those kind of deals also give players protections against trades via clauses that they can control their destiny if the team decides to trade them eventually…other than that, I can’t imagine it being fiscally responsible to restructure his current deal by converting base pay into signing bonuses, we’re talking about 15mil plus signing bonuses or basically almost as much of a signing bonus as on the whole entire original deal!

I can definitely see Vato and Fieler getting traded or cut outright, neither one has any guaranteed money left for 2023, teams hurting for secondary or O-line help might trade for these guys as they are still solid players but compensation won’t be crazy, maybe a 6th rounder for each guy…if pipkins ends up asking for ridiculous money then feiler might be kept on with probably salyer taking pipkins position at RT something like slater, fieler, linsley, zion, salyer, could potentially be the starting O-line heading into 2023, but we’ll see what ends up happening…

[Boltnut]

Yes, Mack was restructured so that he only counted as $8,750,000 against this year's cap. Part of that restructure bonus ($9,000,000) was spread out over the next 2 years. It would be hard to restructure Mack again... without making 2024 (Herbert's option year) a financial burden.

Cutting Keenan after the season saves the Chargers $14.8 million against the cap.
Cutting Mack after the season saves the Chargers $18.4 million against the cap.

Cutting Feiler after the season saves $6.5 million.
Cutting Davis after the season saves $7.4 million.

The Chargers are currently $3 million (OTC) or $13 million (Spotrac) over next year's cap.
The difference in cap numbers are due to OTC's assumption that the NFL cap will increase $10 million next year (probable).
Herbert's 2024 (5th year option) will probably be around $30 million.
Also consider that the rookie pool probably costs around $10 million to sign next year.
Only 40 on the active roster (before any cuts happen) for 2023... some that will not be on the final 53.

Big decisions: Which FA's to re-sign...? Which roster cuts to make...?

[Boltjolt]

Yes, Mack was restructured so that he only counted as $8,750,000 against this year's cap. Part of that restructure bonus ($9,000,000) was spread out over the next 2 years. It would be hard to restructure Mack again... without making 2024 (Herbert's option year) a financial burden.

Cutting Keenan after the season saves the Chargers $14.8 million against the cap.
Cutting Mack after the season saves the Chargers $18.4 million against the cap.

Cutting Feiler after the season saves $6.5 million.
Cutting Davis after the season saves $7.4 million.

The Chargers are currently $3 million (OTC) or $13 million (Spotrac) over next year's cap.
The difference in cap numbers are due to OTC's assumption that the NFL cap will increase $10 million next year (probable).
Herbert's 2024 (5th year option) will probably be around $30 million.
Also consider that the rookie pool probably costs around $10 million to sign next year.
Only 40 on the active roster (before any cuts happen) for 2023... some that will not be on the final 53.

Big decisions: Which FA's to re-sign...? Which roster cuts to make...?

Just hard to see this happen. Vato and Fieler i can easily see happen.
How much does the cap go up next season? Ive read its alot but didnt get a figure.

[Boltnut]

Just hard to see this happen. Vato and Fieler i can easily see happen.
How much does the cap go up next season? Ive read its alot but didnt get a figure.

According to the discrepancy between OTC's and Spotrac's cap projections, the cap may go up by $10 million.

Callahan will be a FA that probably can't be re-signed. Vato just doesn't seem to fit. CB/NB is a position that needs to be addressed in the draft IMO.
Feiler played well in his last game. Trey Pipkins is playing well... and probably can't be re-signed (could get a $12 million contract this off-season).
Luckily, Salyer is playing well and can be moved to RT next year.
Slater, Feiler, Linsley, Zion, and Salyer would be a nice OL for a SB push next year.
I don't trust Jaimes to take over for Feiler. If you're going to cut Feiler... better find a good LG in the draft. I see some good LG prospects.

It's hard to see Mack leave. The jury is out on Rumph. But the cap savings allows for one mid-range FA and several low-cost FA's... Guyton, Fox, Reeder, Scott, Van Noy, Parham...?
Tranquill and Adderly are struggling but probably qualify as mid-range salary FA signs. I would definitely look to the draft to replace these players.

Keenan (although hurt ATM) has been the face of the Chargers. The offense is so much better with him out there. He is a premier route runner and good fit for Lombardi's offense. Having said that, his contract in 2024 ($25.8 million cap hit) looks unrealistic.

[Boltjolt]

According to the discrepancy between OTC's and Spotrac's cap projections, the cap may go up by $10 million.

Callahan will be a FA that probably can't be re-signed. Vato just doesn't seem to fit. CB/NB is a position that needs to be addressed in the draft IMO.
Feiler played well in his last game. Trey Pipkins is playing well... and probably can't be re-signed (could get a $12 million contract this off-season).
Luckily, Salyer is playing well and can be moved to RT next year.
Slater, Feiler, Linsley, Zion, and Salyer would be a nice OL for a SB push next year.
I don't trust Jaimes to take over for Feiler. If you're going to cut Feiler... better find a good LG in the draft. I see some good LG prospects.

It's hard to see Mack leave. The jury is out on Rumph. But the cap savings allows for one mid-range FA and several low-cost FA's... Guyton, Fox, Reeder, Scott, Van Noy, Parham...?
Tranquill and Adderly are struggling but probably qualify as mid-range salary FA signs. I would definitely look to the draft to replace these players.

Keenan (although hurt ATM) has been the face of the Chargers. The offense is so much better with him out there. He is a premier route runner and good fit for Lombardi's offense. Having said that, his contract in 2024 ($25.8 million cap hit) looks unrealistic.

Woods and the two drafted CBs should be better next year. But yes i can see another CB drafted. Not sure it will be a top pick though. I dont see it at this point.
Woods biggest problem has been tackling. He is getting there with recognition quickly, just needs to wrap up better.

As for Mack, you just dont give up a 2nd round pick for a one year rental. That would be pretty bad imo.
I think the Keenan trade talk is crazy. Whatever they do, he will be here next season....but im sure with a better cap situation.

[Boltnut]

Woods and the two drafted CBs should be better next year. But yes i can see another CB drafted. Not sure it will be a top pick though. I dont see it at this point.
Woods biggest problem has been tackling. He is getting there with recognition quickly, just needs to wrap up better.

As for Mack, you just dont give up a 2nd round pick for a one year rental. That would be pretty bad imo.
I think the Keenan trade talk is crazy. Whatever they do, he will be here next season....but im sure with a better cap situation.

How do you get under the cap? How do you re-sign/sign FA's to get to the 53-man roster?

[gzubeck]

How do you get under the cap? How do you re-sign/sign FA's to get to the 53-man roster?

Given that Bosa is out for half the season I think it's already payed off. LOL!

[chargeroo]

How do you get under the cap? How do you re-sign/sign FA's to get to the 53-man roster?

If you're considering passing on KA, you may as well dump JH10 too. That will help a lot with the cap.

[sonorajim]

How do you get under the cap? How do you re-sign/sign FA's to get to the 53-man roster?

I leave it up to TT / Staley, McGuire post -season. They need to see how everyone is doing in the full 2022 season.

[Boltnut]

Given that Bosa is out for half the season I think it's already payed off. LOL!

Well, you can't dump Bosa next year as he costs more to cut ($38 million) than to keep ($31 million).
You could dump him in 2024 ($22 million savings) but eat $7 million in dead cap.

Bosa is also 4 years younger than Mack.

[Boltnut]

If you're considering passing on KA, you may as well dump JH10 too. That will help a lot with the cap.

I'm not passing on KA. I'd keep him on for 2023.
In 2024 his cap is @$25.8 million though. Do you think he's worth that?
And remember, all of this discussion is about keeping JH. JH's cap hit (5th-year option will be $30 million.
Of course, they could re-do his (Herbert's) contract (extension) in 2024 (probable) and lower his cap hit for 2024.