Official 2026 Chargers Roster Discussion | Roster Build | Free Agency

[Boltjolt]

So this is only an exercise... If you hate reading, then skip this post.

The strategy: (1) Re-build of the IOL (2) Retain most of the 2026 free agents (3) Sign very few outside free agents (in hopes of getting comp picks)

The means: I will use OTC's 2026 Salary Cap Calculator tool. I will use OTC's Valuation tool to estimate players values.


Players I cut: RG Mekhi Becton (cap savings of $10m). Also cut Marlow Wax, Jordan Oladokun, Savion Washington, and Josh Fuga because I don't think they make the 53-man roster.

Players I re-sign (don't count against the comp calculation):

Khalil Mack ($18m) He's so valuable. Re-sign @this year's salary.
Teair Tart ($8m) This is about what Poona Ford got from the Rams. Tart is playing just as well.
Da'Shawn Hand ($4m) A pay raise for his good production.
Naquan Jones ($2m) A slight pay raise.
Odafe Oweh ($10m) This is his approximate salary this year. Edge rushers cost money even with modest production.
Denzel Perryman ($2.5m) Slight increase. We are a better run defense with him. Insurance against another Colson injury.
Benjamin St Juste ($3.5m) Modest pay increase.
Deane Leonard ($2m) Depth @CB. He looked good as a gunner.
Tony Jefferson ($1.5m) Old... but still effective. Cheap depth.
Josh Harris ($1.5m) Old... effective. Cheap.
Trevor Penning ($3m) Still young. Tackle/guard versatile. Depth @OT.
Zion Johnson ($7m) OTC has his value @nearly $11m... I wouldn't pay $11m.
Jamaree Salyer ($1.5) Tackle/guard versatility. He might want more... or a chance @starting. We might want better @OG depth.
Najee Harris ($2.5m) We certainly didn't get our ROI... maybe he feels bad. Coming off injury, $2.5m feels fair.
Kimani Vidal ($1m) He an ERFA. Cheap. Starting to develop nicely.
Trey Lance ($3m) He may want more... or a chance to start.
Tucker Fisk ($1.5m) A RFA. Starting to develop.
Tyler Conklin ($1.5m) Filling depth... cheaply.
Keenan Allen ($5.5m) Basically, the same as this year. Will he retire?

Outside Player I sign (counts against the calculation but gets cancelled out if Pipkins signs somewhere for $10m)

RG Ed Ingram ($12.5m) This is what OTC says Ingram will get. It's 2.5m more than you saved by cutting Mekhi.


All of those moves would give us 50 on the roster and $33m in cap space.
You have realistically 4 out 5 draft picks to compete for 3 spots. After you pay rookies, you have about $27m of space... about what you need.

Andre James, Tito, and Hart walk... you might get a 6th comp pick.
You would have a Super Bowl roster though... and very good depth.

Najee, Conklin ....c-ya. Najee wasn't bad when he played but now he us coming off an Achillis. He isn't 25 doing that like Dobbins was. Najee will be 28 in March. Not old be any means but .... depends who else is out there. And will he accept 2.5?

Brian Robinson will be a FA. What is his valuation? He is 26. And,...IF Dobbins is available, id again offer him 3 years, 14-15 mil if he stays healthy this year. Don't like him as a Donkey

Lance may want an opportunity to start so he may not be back. Could get us a comp pick from a QB needy team.

[Boltnut]

James won't get you a comp pick
Tito might


I am not concerned with comp picks more than building the right roster. Chargers have a lot of cap space. I don't need to pay most of the above first - thats just taking up cap space
I want to upgrade the roster. So if that means passing on a 2027 6th or 7th rounder to win in 2026 - -Hortiz will do that. After you get through free agency - you can than pick and choose a few veteran minimum types. Than the draft to see what you have. Finally, one last look around the veteran market.. But no way am I signing 25 players like you have listed BEFORE real free agency in March.

Comp picks as a strategy can be useful. But I think the Chargers are probably a year away from having free agents other teams will truly want

Kudos to you for reading through all of that... and notations, too!

"Taking up cap space" is what roster building is all about. It seems like we have a lot of cap space... but in reality we have 30 realistic players signed for next year. With only 4 real draft picks, that means we need to sign 19-20 free agents. They have to come from somewhere. Why not re-sign guys that already know what is expected.

If you want to "upgrade" any of those positions/players... it will cost you. Sometimes 2 to 3 times as much. You're stealing from Sam to pay Joe. And your real upgrades come from the draft... unfortunately we don't have many of those. IMO, those upgrades could/should be @center, edge, DT, and LB. The other draft upgrade came @RG through free agency... and mainly because the ROI hasn't panned out (Becton).

The rest is just shuffling the deck (FA signings).

I'm sure you are right, though... probably not re-signing that many free agents... just an exercise.

[wu-dai clan]

Please Boltnut.
Not Ed Ingram.
And isn't it a skosh bit early ?
Hmmmm ???
Look at all the common snaps our current OL is getting.
The revealing will be in December, January...

[Boltnut]

Najee, Conklin ....c-ya. Najee wasn't bad when he played and coming off an Achillis. He isn't 25 doing that like Dobbins was. Najee will be 28 in March. Not old be any means but .... depends who else is out there. And will he accept 2.5?

Brian Robinson will be a FA. What is his valuation? He is 26. And,...IF Dobbins is available, id again offer him 3 years, 14-15 mil if he stays healthy this year. Don't like him as a Donkey

Lance may want an opportunity to start so he may not be back. Could get us a comp pick from a QB needy team.

Najee and Conklin didn't work out this year (mainly injury). That's why I think they could be had cheaply... and with luck, over-perform. I would imagine Brian Robinson may command what Najee/Conklin get combined.

If Lance wants that chance... I wouldn't blame him. If someone else bites... I would gladly take the comp.

In the end, I don't think we re-sign that many... it was just a question I wanted to explore.

[Boltnut]

Please Boltnut.
Not Ed Ingram.
And isn't it a skosh bit early ?
Hmmmm ???
Look at all the common snaps our current OL is getting.
The revealing will be in December, January...

Ed Ingram mashes. He mashed in college, he mashes now... especially as a run blocker.
He has given up as many pressures in one season... as Mekhi gives up in two games.
Are we not interested in protecting the Herb...? See the sig, be the sig.

[Jack Burton]

So this is only an exercise... If you hate reading, then skip this post.

The strategy: (1) Re-build of the IOL (2) Retain most of the 2026 free agents (3) Sign very few outside free agents (in hopes of getting comp picks)

The means: I will use OTC's 2026 Salary Cap Calculator tool. I will use OTC's Valuation tool to estimate players values.


Players I cut: RG Mekhi Becton (cap savings of $10m). Also cut Marlow Wax, Jordan Oladokun, Savion Washington, and Josh Fuga because I don't think they make the 53-man roster.

Players I re-sign (don't count against the comp calculation):

Khalil Mack ($18m) He's so valuable. Re-sign @this year's salary.
Teair Tart ($8m) This is about what Poona Ford got from the Rams. Tart is playing just as well.
Da'Shawn Hand ($4m) A pay raise for his good production.
Naquan Jones ($2m) A slight pay raise.
Odafe Oweh ($10m) This is his approximate salary this year. Edge rushers cost money even with modest production.
Denzel Perryman ($2.5m) Slight increase. We are a better run defense with him. Insurance against another Colson injury.
Benjamin St Juste ($3.5m) Modest pay increase.
Deane Leonard ($2m) Depth @CB. He looked good as a gunner.
Tony Jefferson ($1.5m) Old... but still effective. Cheap depth.
Josh Harris ($1.5m) Old... effective. Cheap.
Trevor Penning ($3m) Still young. Tackle/guard versatile. Depth @OT.
Zion Johnson ($7m) OTC has his value @nearly $11m... I wouldn't pay $11m.
Jamaree Salyer ($1.5) Tackle/guard versatility. He might want more... or a chance @starting. We might want better @OG depth.
Najee Harris ($2.5m) We certainly didn't get our ROI... maybe he feels bad. Coming off injury, $2.5m feels fair.
Kimani Vidal ($1m) He an ERFA. Cheap. Starting to develop nicely.
Trey Lance ($3m) He may want more... or a chance to start.
Tucker Fisk ($1.5m) A RFA. Starting to develop.
Tyler Conklin ($1.5m) Filling depth... cheaply.
Keenan Allen ($5.5m) Basically, the same as this year. Will he retire?

Outside Player I sign (counts against the calculation but gets cancelled out if Pipkins signs somewhere for $10m)

RG Ed Ingram ($12.5m) This is what OTC says Ingram will get. It's 2.5m more than you saved by cutting Mekhi.


All of those moves would give us 50 on the roster and $33m in cap space.
You have realistically 4 out 5 draft picks to compete for 3 spots. After you pay rookies, you have about $27m of space... about what you need.

Andre James, Tito, and Hart walk... you might get a 6th comp pick.
You would have a Super Bowl roster though... and very good depth.

Since you did all that work, I thought I’d add to it..
I did the opposite of yesterday’s discussion just to mix it up. I like some of your additions and FA’s I just think players will go for a bit more cause it’s FA and we keep seeing teams over pay. I think the Chargers trade down in the 1st and get more picks, but I just did a quick draft to add to the outlook.

DRAFT

1 EDGE DAVID BAILEY TEXAS TECH
2 RT JAEDEN ROBERTS ALABAMA
3 C LOGAN JONES IOWA
4 DT C.J. FITE ARIZONA STATE
5 TRADED FOR EDGE ODAFE OWEH
6 OT ISAIAH JATTA BYU

O LINE

LT JOE ALT
LG RASHAWN SLATER
C LOGAN JONES
RG ED INGRAM
RT JAEDEN ROBERTS

FA

RG ED INGRAM (HOU) 4 YRS 48 MIL (22 G)
ILB LEO CHENAL (KC) 4 YRS 33 MIL (16 G)

RESIGN

EDGE ODAFE OWEH 4 YRS 44 MIL (20 G)
DT DA’SHAWN HAND 3 YRS 20 MIL (9 G)
OT TREVOR PENNING 3 YRS 8 MIL (4 G)
FB TUCKER FISK 2 YR 3 MIL
QB TREY LANCE 2 YRS 5 MIL
WR KEENAN ALLEN 1 YR 5 MIL
S TONY JEFFERSON 1 YR 1 MIL
RB HASSAN HASKINS (ST’S) 1 YR 1 MIL
CB DEANE LEONARD (ST’s) 2 YR 2 MIL


88 MIL LAC have 111 MIL in FA

[Boltnut]

I really like Logan Jones as our next center... and David Bailey would be a smart pick, too.
I haven't gotten used to the idea of Rashawn @OG. I don't think it happens.

Ingram and Chenal were guys I liked/scouted coming out of college.

[21&500]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chargers/co...are&utm_term=4

[Boltjolt]

Najee and Conklin didn't work out this year (mainly injury). That's why I think they could be had cheaply... and with luck, over-perform. I would imagine Brian Robinson may command what Najee/Conklin get combined.

If Lance wants that chance... I wouldn't blame him. If someone else bites... I would gladly take the comp.

In the end, I don't think we re-sign that many... it was just a question I wanted to explore.

I'm not so sure. Robinson isn't starting in SF and plays sparingly. Lost his starting Job in WA but he still produces when called upon..

And yes I know it was a type exercise for next year..Not sure how many we bring back but we have 3 DL id like to bring back,... at least two in Hand and Tart.

[YAC]

So this is only an exercise... If you hate reading, then skip this post.

I like reading and love how you think, Boltnut.

That said, I'm skipping the post. For now.

We all have different approaches to life, fandom, philosophy, etc. For me I prefer to wait on substantive off-season discussions until the off-season starts. But by no means would I want to diminish the enthusiasm of those seeking to get a head start on the rest of us. By then perhaps you'll have lapped the field in gathering insights.

[Cdn Bolt]

Just checked the ESPN stats. I haven't been noticing Justin Eboigbe much but he has 4 sacks, good for being tied for 2nd on the team w Mack and Oweh. Another developer on a DL group where everyone seems to be contributing.

Hortiz is really doing a great job or they are great at developing players or both.

We are the # 4 D for yds allowed but we were allowing 4.9 ypr. Mack and Dashawn Hand were injured and the run D seems much better now though.

On O, our top 4 receivers are all on pace for 900-1000 yd seasons, McC, DJ, OG and KA. No real superstars, but as a group our pass O is #7 in the NFL for yds/game.

[Lone Bolt]

Najee and Conklin didn't work out this year (mainly injury). That's why I think they could be had cheaply... and with luck, over-perform. I would imagine Brian Robinson may command what Najee/Conklin get combined.

If Lance wants that chance... I wouldn't blame him. If someone else bites... I would gladly take the comp.

In the end, I don't think we re-sign that many... it was just a question I wanted to explore.

I agree on Najee and Conklin, for the right price...quality depth pieces...if they like the team, the west coast...could be up for fair, but somewhat team friendly deals...