2021 Official Chargers Season Discusssion

[Xenos]

Lets see...I can have MW at 15 mill, or let go of MW, use the 15 mill + a little more to get a FA LT and then draft a better receiver in the 1st or 2nd round. Tough choice.

Not really. You DO NOT draft a receiver in the 1st or 2nd round this year!

[Cdn Bolt]

I don't know why or how they arranged MW to make $15M on a 5th year option rookie deal but they should have dumped him. There is no way his productivity even closely matches that salary.

They could get Juju Smith or Kenny Golladay for that kind of $.

[Xenos]

More Popper info and musing. I don't agree with Eric Fisher as #1. A blown Achilles is too risky.
https://theathletic.com/2459965/2021...pdated-top-10/

The one other move from Wednesday that impacted the Chargers was linebacker Denzel Perryman signing with the Panthers on a two-year deal.

Heading into free agency, I did not think Perryman would be a priority. He is a great run defender and violent, downhill player. He also has an infectious and jovial personality, one that lifts the mood and vibe in the locker room. But linebackers are not a focal point in Brandon Staley’s 3-4 defensive scheme.

In a lot of his packages with the Rams, Staley had only one inside linebacker on the field. Sometimes he took the inside linebackers out altogether. The Chargers already have Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill and Kyzir White at inside linebacker. All of them are on rookie deals. Signing Perryman as a fourth linebacker on a veteran contract would not have been a good allocation of resources. The Chargers can add a fourth linebacker in the draft, or look for some really good value later in free agency. Todd Davis is a name to watch. He is only 28, has played a ton of special teams snaps in his career and played in Vic Fangio’s defense in Denver in 2018, when Staley was the outside linebackers coach there. Staley runs a similar scheme as a defensive play-caller.


The salary cap situation
Feiler’s contract is for three years, $21 million. It comes with a $6 million signing bonus and $13 million in guarantees. His cap hits are as follows:

2021: $5 million
2022: $7.5 million
2023: $8.5 million

The Chargers can get out of the contract after 2022.

What does this mean for the overall cap situation? By my calculations, the Chargers have roughly $17.6 million in spending space, factoring in rookie compensation, budgeting for in-season signings and the deals they have made already. They have now hit the roster minimum, so those charges no longer need to be factored in. That is why this number is slightly different than the one I put on Twitter yesterday.

This is plenty of room. The Chargers can continue to be aggressive. Expect more moves before the week is up. They need a corner. They need a tight end. They need a safety. And they could use depth at edge rusher and interior defensive line.


Top 10 remaining free agents
I’ll be listing off my top 10 remaining free agents for the Chargers each day.

1. Chiefs OT Eric Fisher

2. Steelers OT Alejandro Villanueva

3. Vikings S Anthony Harris

4. Chiefs OT Mitchell Schwartz

5. Vikings OT Reilly Reiff

6. Rams CB Troy Hill

7. Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph

8. Titans CB Adoree’ Jackson

9. Cardinals TE Dan Arnold

10. Saints TE Jared Cook

Cook is 34, but he is still a productive receiver. He replaces edge rusher Haason Reddick on our list. Reddick signed a one-year deal with the Panthers. Cook has two big connections to the Chargers coaching staff: He played under OC Joe Lombardi when both guys were with the Saints, and Frank Smith, the Chargers run game coordinator and O-line coach, was Cook’s position coach with the Raiders in 2018.

[Scoregon]

Totally agreed Rich.
At $8 million a year, MW is an asset.
At $15 million, he's a liability.
AJ Green, a more accomplished WR, and same height as MW, is making $8 million this year.

I actually agree with the idea of Williams not being a 15 million wr, but aj green has been a shell of his former self the past two years and I'd far prefer Mike Williams to Green. Considering the Chargers cap situation and the fact that you could extend Williams at a lower yearly cost, I'd far prefer Williams at 15 million over the ghost of AJ Green for 8 mil.

[Bolt4Knob]

Totally agreed Rich.
At $8 million a year, MW is an asset.
At $15 million, he's a liability.
AJ Green, a more accomplished WR, and same height as MW, is making $8 million this year.

hopefully they extend him and lower that contract. he makes some good catches; his yards per catch is pretty good
but availability is an issue - he needs to stay healthy

[MagicMamba88]

[Leslie Grossman]

agreed, think the Cards overpaying him and Watt reeks of desperation.....should have (built back better) with their young QB and Coach
don't see them making a SB with those guys

[Bearded14YourPleasure]

So from what I understand of the MW situation his price tag is just going to be the dead horse of the season. Lose a game in OT? It’s because of that damned contract. 8 OL get hurt? We could have afforded more if it wasn’t for that contract. Herbert throws 80 TDs to him? Not really a good deal on his current contract. I agree his cap hit sucks, but unless he decides to give up on the guaranteed money (why would he do that?) it’s too late to change. Embrace it.

[Xenos]

So from what I understand of the MW situation his price tag is just going to be the dead horse of the season. Lose a game in OT? It’s because of that damned contract. 8 OL get hurt? We could have afforded more if it wasn’t for that contract. Herbert throws 80 TDs to him? Not really a good deal on his current contract. I agree his cap hit sucks, but unless he decides to give up on the guaranteed money (why would he do that?) it’s too late to change. Embrace it.

He could bet on himself this year and leave next year. He could also be tempted to sign a more lucrative deal to get more financial security. As Popper mentioned, an extension could technically be done at any time to lower his annual pay. So all is not lost.

[Xenos]

I don't know why or how they arranged MW to make $15M on a 5th year option rookie deal but they should have dumped him. There is now way his productivity even closely matches that salary.

They could get Juju Smith or Kenny Golladay for that kind of $.

We’ll have to see on Juju and Kenny. And it all becomes a moot point if MW signs an extension.

[Bolt4Knob]

So from what I understand of the MW situation his price tag is just going to be the dead horse of the season. Lose a game in OT? It’s because of that damned contract. 8 OL get hurt? We could have afforded more if it wasn’t for that contract. Herbert throws 80 TDs to him? Not really a good deal on his current contract. I agree his cap hit sucks, but unless he decides to give up on the guaranteed money (why would he do that?) it’s too late to change. Embrace it.

The Chargers at this point do not need his cap space . One thing they could do is extend him but take a larger cap hit to lessen future years cap hits. At the same time, what you don't use this year you can roll to near year . So six of one, half dozen of the other

Its more - its the value for MW there at 15.7m. In this market, no - its not . But it is what it is

The Chargers have plenty of cap space to still improve the roster. They have like 17-18m (taking into account a slush fund for the season and their draft picks to spend).

Telesco just needs to identify the needs to spend it

I disagree on spending on a LT in free agency and drafting WR. There was not a free agent LT that was worth paying.

[BoltingUP]

This board will be interesting when the chargers, once again, pass on an OL in the 1st round for the BPA and the OTs are gone by the time we get to the 2nd round. I would rather have a PFF grade 72+ FA LT than wait and hope that the chargers will actually draft one in the 1st round. Its not like we have not had this need for years and have always passed on the OL for the BPA. Didn't we pass on Mahomes for Mike Williams who was our BPA??? Oh Well.....in TT we trust!