Official 2026 Chargers Roster Discussion | Roster Build | Free Agency

[Chargers8491]

Three tops imo qualified FAs. Perhaps two OL and an Edge. Tops.... Now if Adams is released of course he won't count.

People are dreaming a bit here on FAs or perhaps just still aren't sure of Hortiz style......which I get as I'm not sure either but I doubt we are going to sign Milton and Sweat, Higgins and Reed.

I'm still going to assume he will take the more Baltimore approach til he shows he won't.

Looking at 2026 the Chargers have 21 players signed. The top 2 cap hits are Herbert @ 46 mil and DJ @ 24 mil. After that is Alt @ 9 mil and then everyone else is 5 mil and under. I guess the Charger could sign a bunch of mid to low tier free agents and get blown out of the PO's again but hey they will 70 mil under the cap. The Chargers need talent and unfortunately talent cost money.

[Bolt4Knob]

they can easily afford to keep their own priority guys, Mack, Fork, Molden, Dobbins, maybe Fulton and Tart too?

they can afford it and those guys all loved playing here...whoever they decide to bring back I think they'll bring back...

But hear me out - what if players on other teams are better that will make the Chargers better?

I just don't get this sentimental shit about "our guys" and loving playing for Harbaught

"Our Guys" haven't won a division in 16 or 17 years

"Our Guys" have won what is it, two play-off games in how many years. McCoy beat Cincinnati but got beat by Denver the next week; Lynn beat the Ravens and got whipped by the Patriots and Staley gave up a 27 zip lead and Harbaugh lost in a wild card game. Thats 2-4 in 12 years

I don't need "our guys" -- find better players that win more games.

Like I said, I don't need to keep any current free agents if there are better players to sign from other teams.

[Bolt4Knob]

Looking at 2026 the Chargers have 21 players signed. The top 2 cap hits are Herbert @ 46 mil and DJ @ 24 mil. After that is Alt @ 9 mil and then everyone else is 5 mil and under. I guess the Charger could sign a bunch of mid to low tier free agents and get blown out of the PO's again but hey they will 70 mil over the cap. The Chargers need talent and unfortunately talent cost money.

Ask Colts fans how they feel about Ballard after 8 or 9 years and being pragmatic in free agency, waiting for the second wave and "so called bargains." Colts fans can't stand Ballard.

I trust Hortiz - I do. I also know the team needs to get better players if they want to beat the Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Ravens. Maybe they can do that with two more good drafts or maybe they can dip their toe in free agency and augment the roster wisely and strategically.

[gzubeck]

Ask Colts fans how they feel about Ballard after 8 or 9 years and being pragmatic in free agency, waiting for the second wave and "so called bargains." Colts fans can't stand Ballard.

I trust Hortiz - I do. I also know the team needs to get better players if they want to beat the Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Ravens. Maybe they can do that with two more good drafts or maybe they can dip their toe in free agency and augment the roster wisely and strategically.

The Commanders drafted a QB and signed Eckler and a few others and were basically in the NFC Superbowl because the Chiefs were really no contest. We were absolutely financially handicapped last season and this year we are not. No Excuses this year if we screw up Free Agency and the draft.

[OG619FrightninLightnin]

Looking at 2026 the Chargers have 21 players signed. The top 2 cap hits are Herbert @ 46 mil and DJ @ 24 mil. After that is Alt @ 9 mil and then everyone else is 5 mil and under. I guess the Charger could sign a bunch of mid to low tier free agents and get blown out of the PO's again but hey they will 70 mil over the cap. The Chargers need talent and unfortunately talent cost money.

You should also mention they are projected to be almost $200M under the cap in 2026

[Boltjolt]

I think Mack(2yrs?) will most likely return, which means they won't pursue Sweat and instead they will draft an Edge guy in the first 3 rounds of the draft...

Our qualified free agent signing might very well be a Guard as they've already said they want Bozeman(1yr) back...they should be drafting a C/G in day 2 or early day 3 depending who is available...

I think the table is being set for Adams(2yrs?) to become the big WR addition...and they either get Rice to fall in line or they replace him later in the draft or bring back Fehoko...

at TE they might trade for Mark Andrews, not sure on that one, is he going into his last year of contract or doesn't he have more than one year left...if he's got one year the deal makes sense because you can extend him to a reduced 2 year deal...or let him walk for comp next offseason...

after Slater's extension, rookie signings, and post draft free agency they might have 20-25mil surplus even allowing for in season budget, they can always roll that into next season or use it to absorb a large salary in a midseason trade...

Andrews is going into the last year of his contract. I don't want to trade for him.

This is what we/ I don't know about Hortiz yet. Will he fish for guys he knows from Baltimore or will he be logical and draft his own guys which would be the better move and MAYBE also get a cheaper vet on a one year deal til the rook is ready. Andrew isn't that guy.
.
Andrews won't come cheap and will also cost a draft pick. Ima Pass on Andrews.
Sign Ertz to a one year deal or Conklin til the rook is ready. Maybe Mason can start day.one.or.he takes time working his way in the lineup.

Gesicki isn't a TE that fits us. Calling him a TE I actually kinda weird. He can't block a lick and isn't used inline very much. He is basically a tall WR who runs in the 4.6s, but he was cheap last year for the Bengals. He is cheap because he isn't really a good inline TE

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Is Grey Zabel in the conversation at #22?

'Small school' seems to be the only hesitation point. But if he's the answer, moving forward, at Center? I say YES.

I mean, sure...it depends on who else remains on the board when Hortiz is on the clock, of COURSE But if Zabel checks all the boxes at Center, I would not be disappointed, at ALL, to spend #22 on him.

[Fouts2herbert]

But hear me out - what if players on other teams are better that will make the Chargers better?

I just don't get this sentimental shit about "our guys" and loving playing for Harbaught

"Our Guys" haven't won a division in 16 or 17 years

"Our Guys" have won what is it, two play-off games in how many years. McCoy beat Cincinnati but got beat by Denver the next week; Lynn beat the Ravens and got whipped by the Patriots and Staley gave up a 27 zip lead and Harbaugh lost in a wild card game. Thats 2-4 in 12 years

I don't need "our guys" -- find better players that win more games.

Like I said, I don't need to keep any current free agents if there are better players to sign from other teams.

Whoever they bring back it'll be for good reason and not just money, it'll be important stuff like scheme fit, team fit, etc...grass ain't always greener and in football relationships are huge, coaches go to extremes to bring "their guys" both players and assistants alike when they move to another team...

we know that the bigger name doesn't mean more success, we got a huge and painful reminder of that with JC Jackson...

B4K, they're not just running it back like you make it sound at times, they are drafting 11 new Chargers, they will probably bring back 5 maybe 6 of their own free agents, sign maybe 1-2 unqualified free agents, maybe 1-2 qualified free agents, then 5-6 more post draft free agents, and finally another 20-22 undrafted free agents...so out of like 43-44 guys being brought in about 5-6 of them maybe tops 7 guys will be guys from last year's roster and some of the guys currently on the roster from 2024 will also get displaced by some of those new guys as well...

it won't surprise me if the 53 man roster come the start of the 2025 season will feature like 17-22 new players that weren't on the 2024 team...they don't like to talk about rebuilding but this much turnover makes it obvious that they are...

[CanadianBoltFan]

Andrews is going into the last year of his contract. I don't want to trade for him.

This is what we/ I don't know about Hortiz yet. Will he fish for guys he knows from Baltimore or will he be logical and draft his own guys which would be the better move and MAYBE also get a cheaper vet on a one year deal til the rook is ready. Andrew isn't that guy.
.
Andrews won't come cheap and will also cost a draft pick. Ima Pass on Andrews.
Sign Ertz to a one year deal or Conklin top the rook is ready. Maybe Mason can start day.one.or.he takes time working his way in the lineup.

Gesicki isn't a TE that fits us. Calling him a TE I actually kinda weird. He can't block a lick and isn't used inline very much. He is basically a tall WR who runs in the 4.6s, but he was cheap last year for the Bengals. He is cheap because he isn't really a good inline TE

Same, pass on Andrews. Older player. I dont want to give up any draft assets, not for a position that is quite strong in the draft full of longer term solutions. Same reason I am not interested in any FA RB save for our own guy Dobbins who is a great leader on our team.

I would be ok with a FA WR like Adams as WR isnt so strong this draft and it takes a position of need off the draft shopping list, save for maybe a later round developemental prospect.

[Fouts2herbert]

Andrews is going into the last year of his contract. I don't want to trade for him.

This is what we/ I don't know about Hortiz yet. Will he fish for guys he knows from Baltimore or will he be logical and draft his own guys which would be the better move and MAYBE also get a cheaper vet on a one year deal til the rook is ready. Andrew isn't that guy.
.
Andrews won't come cheap and will also cost a draft pick. Ima Pass on Andrews.
Sign Ertz to a one year deal or Conklin top the rook is ready. Maybe Mason can start day.one.or.he takes time working his way in the lineup.

Gesicki isn't a TE that fits us. Calling him a TE I actually kinda weird. He can't block a lick and isn't used inline very much. He is basically a tall WR who runs in the 4.6s, but he was cheap last year for the Bengals. He is cheap because he isn't really a good inline TE

Whoa, you're really down on Andrews...I would trade a mid day 3 pick for him in a heartbeat...I think that playoff game has people forgetting what a good player he is...

[el_jefe999]

Is Grey Zabel in the conversation at #22?

'Small school' seems to be the only hesitation point. But if he's the answer, moving forward, at Center? I say YES.

I mean, sure...it depends on who else remains on the board when Hortiz is on the clock, of COURSE But if Zabel checks all the boxes at Center, I would not be disappointed, at ALL, to spend #22 on him.

If Hortiz and Harbaugh want Zabel at center I will trust their judgement. He dominated at the Sr Bowl which means he wont' be overmatched despite being at a small school.

My offseason recipe is high end center, high end pass catcher(WR or TE), 2x edge(assuming we lose both bosa and mack, 1x if we resign Mack), RB and CB. There are so many ways this could be split up between FA, trades and draft that it's impossible to really know until we start seeing camp cuts and get to the draft.

Personally I would be very happen if they drafted Zabel to sure up the line situation and were able to make a trade of a day 3 pick for either Metcalf or Andrews as one of the many possible combinations.

[Jack Burton]

Andrews is going into the last year of his contract. I don't want to trade for him.

This is what we/ I don't know about Hortiz yet. Will he fish for guys he knows from Baltimore or will he be logical and draft his own guys which would be the better move and MAYBE also get a cheaper vet on a one year deal til the rook is ready. Andrew isn't that guy.
.
Andrews won't come cheap and will also cost a draft pick. Ima Pass on Andrews.
Sign Ertz to a one year deal or Conklin top the rook is ready. Maybe Mason can start day.one.or.he takes time working his way in the lineup.

Gesicki isn't a TE that fits us. Calling him a TE I actually kinda weird. He can't block a lick and isn't used inline very much. He is basically a tall WR who runs in the 4.6s, but he was cheap last year for the Bengals. He is cheap because he isn't really a good inline TE

It’s a really deep draft at TE. Let’s just draft 2. As of right now they got 11 freaking picks.
And yes, Gesicki is just a tall WR, who cannot block. I’d rather draft a guy who can catch and develop him into a good blocking TE. This coaching staff is stellar. Let’s just use them to draft and develop.