Thoughts On Cutting Keenan Allen?

[Boltjolt]

Ekeler is our power back, haven’t seen a Bolt RB who can fight for - and get - extra yards like he can, not in a long while. Which is kinda odd considering his size, but is what it is. Gibbs would be an excellent fit with Ekeler IMHO.

Your kidding right?
Gordon had fumble issues but he broke many more tackles than Ekeler does. Hec so did Mathews.

[richpjr]

Your kidding right?
Gordon had fumble issues but he broke many more tackles than Ekeler does. Hec so did Mathews.

He did break more, but not as much as you think. In the past 3 years, Gordon broke 41 tackles in 508 rushes and Ekeler broke 31 in 526 rushes. Neither are in the Cook or Henry class for breaking tackles.

blue's point about Ekeler fighting for extra yards is definitely something I have noticed, especially near the goal line - carrying guys for a first down or into the end zone does not count as a broken tackle but Ekeler does it often.

[jamrock]

He did break more, but not as much as you think. In the past 3 years, Gordon broke 41 tackles in 508 rushes and Ekeler broke 31 in 526 rushes. Neither are in the Cook or Henry class for breaking tackles.

blue's point about Ekeler fighting for extra yards is definitely something I have noticed, especially near the goal line - carrying guys for a first down or into the end zone does not count as a broken tackle but Ekeler does it often.

Ekeler has something more valuable than breaking tackles that Gordon doesn’t and that’s making the first man miss. Ekeler has much better moves

[Velo]

Your kidding right?
Gordon had fumble issues but he broke many more tackles than Ekeler does. Hec so did Mathews.

Gordon was young when he was with the Chargers and has a bigger body than Ekeler and could deliver punishment while breaking tackles head-on. But IMO Ekeler breaks more tackles through his shiftiness. I know that juking a defender is not considered breaking a tackle, but it in effect it is the same thing. Ekeler doesn't deliver punishment because he has a lighter body. But his legendary strength helps him shed tacklers who don't have a solid grip on him.

Speaking of Ekeler, he will be 28 in May. He's reaching that expiration date age for NFL RBs. Not all RBs hit the wall at 30ish, but many do. LT peaked at age 27 in 2006. He was still a premier back the next season at age 28. At age 29 his production sank significantly. And once he hit 30 he never had a 1,000 yard season again.

[Bolt4Knob]

Gordon was young when he was with the Chargers and has a bigger body than Ekeler and could deliver punishment while breaking tackles head-on. But IMO Ekeler breaks more tackles through his shiftiness. I know that juking a defender is not considered breaking a tackle, but it in effect it is the same thing. Ekeler doesn't deliver punishment because he has a lighter body. But his legendary strength helps him shed tacklers who don't have a solid grip on him.

Speaking of Ekeler, he will be 28 in May. He's reaching that expiration date age for NFL RBs. Not all RBs hit the wall at 30ish, but many do. LT peaked at age 27 in 2006. He was still a premier back the next season at age 28. At age 29 his production sank significantly. And once he hit 30 he never had a 1,000 yard season again.

I think one of the Chargers cap moves could be extending Ekeler - save cap space this year - another 7-8m cap hit next year, but in 2025 - his salary might be 8m but 3m of dead cap that makes him easier to release. But I think he can be effective a couple more years as long as he is not the main guy. More like Ronnie Harmon

[Boltjolt]

Gordon was young when he was with the Chargers and has a bigger body than Ekeler and could deliver punishment while breaking tackles head-on. But IMO Ekeler breaks more tackles through his shiftiness. I know that juking a defender is not considered breaking a tackle, but it in effect it is the same thing. Ekeler doesn't deliver punishment because he has a lighter body. But his legendary strength helps him shed tacklers who don't have a solid grip on him.

Speaking of Ekeler, he will be 28 in May. He's reaching that expiration date age for NFL RBs. Not all RBs hit the wall at 30ish, but many do. LT peaked at age 27 in 2006. He was still a premier back the next season at age 28. At age 29 his production sank significantly. And once he hit 30 he never had a 1,000 yard season again.

Agree but he called Ekeler a power back and has broken more tackles than any RB he can remember. That's what I'm responding too.

LT, Turner, Gordon, Mathews, Butts, Means, .....Ek has broken more tackles than those guys?

Uhhhh, NO. Maybe his memory is slipping and forgot those guys lol.
Ekeler for his size is very strong but he isn't a power back.

[Bolt4Knob]

Popper nails it. Why I have been on the cut Keenan Allen line of long term cap thinking, Its more about pushing less money into the future. Williams or Bosa are good candidates for kicking the can; Allen, Linsley and Mack are not good players to move a lot of money for . But what do Telesco or Staley care, if they suck this year, they are fired. Not realizing, they are going to field a team with less depth both this year and the future

INDIANAPOLIS — Here are some parting thoughts as I head back west from the NFL Scouting Combine.

1. General manager Tom Telesco gave beat writers one public statement this week: “Keenan Allen isn’t going anywhere.” The Chargers are more than $20 million over the cap and could save $14.8 million in space by cutting Allen, according to Over The Cap. They could also save more than $16 million by trading Allen. However, the Chargers seem determined to keep their nucleus of star players as close to intact as possible. Allen is included in that group, of course. He is still an excellent player. Injuries, including Allen’s lingering hamstring strain, totally derailed the Chargers’ vision for their roster in 2022. The team wants to see that vision fully realized in 2023, if possible. As Brandon Staley said Tuesday: “Now I want our team to stay healthy. I want our team to get to play together because our team didn’t get to play together.”

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Keeping Allen, though, would make the roster-building path more precarious. The Chargers would lose an elite receiver if they released or traded Allen. But they could also use those savings to invest in multiple other players, like right tackle Trey Pipkins III and linebacker Drue Tranquill, who are both headed for free agency. The Chargers, instead, are planning to navigate their cap situation primarily by restructuring existing deals. Edge rusher Joey Bosa, edge rusher Khalil Mack and center Corey Linsley are the best candidates for restructures. They can also save $10.75 million by cutting left guard Matt Feiler and tight end Gerald Everett, according to Over The Cap. Between those five moves, the Chargers can clear as much as $43.06 million in space, using figures from Over The Cap. That would leave them $22.68 million under the cap.

That is enough space to function. But there will be limitations on how the Chargers can build their roster if they go this route. The cap situation is not ideal, plain and simple. As I wrote earlier this offseason: “If the Chargers want to keep Allen for 2023, the cap math starts to get difficult. Not impossible. But difficult.” And now the Chargers are publicly saying that they plan to enter that difficult reality.

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The Chargers are cap-crunched: What does that mean for Keenan Allen?

2. I have two main concerns about taking this approach — one short term and one long term.

The short-term concern is that the Chargers will have a very tough time building out their depth in the middle of the roster. Last year, the Chargers had space to sign players like Morgan Fox, Bryce Callahan and Kyle Van Noy after the draft. Those three veterans ended up being huge contributors, and the Chargers would not have made the playoffs without that depth.

They would not have the same freedom this year if they decide to go the route of restructuring deals and cutting role players like Feiler and Everett. I understand that $22.68 million seems like a lot of space. But it disappears quickly. They have to pay their draft picks. Restricted free agents like Donald Parham Jr. and Breiden Fehoko would take up space. Exclusive rights free agents like Cameron Dicker, Michael Bandy and Foster Sarell would take up space. They need to either re-sign JK Scott or sign a new punter. They will likely end up signing a veteran backup quarterback. They need to either re-sign receiver DeAndre Carter or find a new returner.


These are minor deals, but they add up. And that is before the Chargers get to re-signing higher-priced free agents like Pipkins, Tranquill, Fox, Callahan and Van Noy. It is possible the Chargers get priced out of all those markets. If Pipkins signs elsewhere, the Chargers could move Jamaree Salyer to right tackle. But in the scenario we are projecting, they would need to replace Feiler at left guard. They do not have that replacement on the roster. If Tranquill signs elsewhere, they would be extremely thin at inside linebacker. Kenneth Murray Jr. would be their top player at that position. Is Chris Rumph II ready to take on the third edge rusher role behind Bosa and Mack that Van Noy filled last season? Is Ja’Sir Taylor ready to be a full-time starter at slot corner, replacing Callahan? Austin Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia are both rehabbing significant knee injuries. Where do the Chargers find the defensive line depth if Fox is too costly?

These are the difficult questions the Chargers will have to answer. And because of the cap situation, the team will have to find most of the solutions in the draft. There will be a ton of pressure on hitting on contributing players with the seven picks the Chargers have, or they will not have the depth to contend in 2023. Telesco could try to trade down to accrue more picks and have more shots at finding that depth to round out the roster.

And this is operating under the premise that the Chargers will execute maximum restructures on Bosa, Mack and Linsley. That $22.68 million number is the most the Chargers can clear by restructuring those deals and cutting Everett and Feiler. It could end up below that if the Chargers decide to convert less than the maximum amount into signing bonuses.

3. That brings us to my long-term concern. As I have written often this offseason, restructuring deals does not mean cap hits evaporate. The cap charges just get deferred to future seasons. If the Chargers do a maximum restructure on Mack’s contract, for instance, his cap hit in 2024 would increase by almost $11 million, according to Over The Cap. And if the Chargers wanted to move on from Mack next offseason, when he would be entering his age 33 season, they would have to wear a dead money charge on their cap of more than $15 million.

The simplest way to distill this: Restructures create immediate cap relief but hinder flexibility in future seasons. In Linsley’s case, the Chargers would be adding more potential dead money in his age 33 and age 34 seasons in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The Chargers can clear up significant cap space in 2023 by restructuring players such as Khalil Mack, but that will add to the bills in future seasons. (Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

4. My overarching thought on the Chargers’ cap situation: They made an aggressive financial push to win a Super Bowl in 2022, which was the third season of Justin Herbert’s rookie deal. They spent heavily in free agency last offseason, particularly on the defense, and they built a really good roster. But they failed to reach their goal, partly due to injuries. Now Telesco and Staley will be trying to keep that window open. In that process, I think the roster will be less deep, and they will afford themselves far less flexibility in 2024 and beyond.

[chargeroo]

The reason I've been opposed to cutting KA is overlooked by this article - cut Allen and we don't have a passing attack anymore. It's simple to see, when Allen is out, our passing game is putrid. We need to get a replacement on board and trained before we cut him.

[Craig440]

The reason I've been opposed to cutting KA is overlooked by this article - cut Allen and we don't have a passing attack anymore. It's simple to see, when Allen is out, our passing game is putrid. We need to get a replacement on board and trained before we cut him.

I agree. I would hate to see him go. The one thing that bothers me is Guyton. I hear nothing about him. He did great with Herbert. He had a few drops early but look at Herberts rookie year with him and Tyron Johnson. We tore the passing game up. Best in history of the league for a rookie. Can't we resign him for pretty cheap?. We need more than one speed guy just in case one goes down. The speed guys open the rest of the field.

[chargeroo]

I agree. I would hate to see him go. The one thing that bothers me is Guyton. I hear nothing about him. He did great with Herbert. He had a few drops early but look at Herberts rookie year with him and Tyron Johnson. We tore the passing game up. Best in history of the league for a rookie. Can't we resign him for pretty cheap?. We need more than one speed guy just in case one goes down. The speed guys open the rest of the field.

I agree, I hope they can bring Guyton back. I'll always wonder what's up with Johnson. Team after team let him walk. Maybe he has a screw loose?

[charger1_sj]

I agree, I hope they can bring Guyton back. I'll always wonder what's up with Johnson. Team after team let him walk. Maybe he has a screw loose?

Guyton is a RFA. If we tender him an offer a team paying him more or equal to the tender would have to give us a draft pick as compensation. The
round depends on what tender type of tender we put on him. Not sure about this year but a 1st round tender would cost about $6M.
Second round about $4M. Or right of first refusal around $3M. If we have the cap space I would put a 2nd round tender on him. He'd be a UFA
the following year though.

[Boltjolt]

Guyton is a RFA. If we tender him an offer a team paying him more or equal to the tender would have to give us a draft pick as compensation. The
round depends on what tender type of tender we put on him. Not sure about this year but a 1st round tender would cost about $6M.
Second round about $4M. Or right of first refusal around $3M. If we have the cap space I would put a 2nd round tender on him. He'd be a UFA
the following year though.

They will likely tender him the original round tender which, since he was undrafted would be the cheapest option.

I doubt any team would want to sign him with a pick involved and if they can sign him for less, they will.