The Official 2026 Chargers Season Discussion - (0-2)

[Topcat]

I don't see Higgins as a perfect fit at 30 plus mil APY, if he's signing for 2/3s of that I would be okay with that but he's not going to sign for anything under 31-32mil and it might go as high as 35mil when the bidding starts...as for the injury issues, that's a real concern for that type of money...

at that point I'd rather we got Adams for 2 years at 21-22mil APY, and he's not an injury prone guy...OR you can bring back MWs for 2 years at 11-13mil APY...few teams in the NFL run less passing plays than the Chargers, so to me spending that type of money for a high volume WR guy that will have reduced volume with us doesn't sound like a good fit...it's all in how you look at it, you have to see the whole picture not just the Madden one size fits all rating type of approach...

Adams would be cheaper...and still has some gas left in the tank...

[Bolt4Knob]

The formula we saw last year worked really well, why change it? every short one year deal that Hortiz can extract from a veteran player translates to some real positives, increases the chances that those players are motivated to showcase for a bigger deal next year, either with us or some other team benefits us either way, also with the short deals Hortiz is buying time, time to rebuild in other areas in the draft so that he can come back to the areas with short term deals in future drafts...signing a bunch of free agents to even middling level contracts is not good for the cap and leaves you with dead cap in the future that you could otherwise use to extend your own guys...

Hortiz is at the very beginning of his second year and he's going to continue to focus on building this team thru the draft, I can see them signing one or two qualified free agents but they might be short term mid tier type contracts, most likely that he pursues cap casualty types that won't count agains the comp formula, guys like Devontae Adams or Kendall Fuller, there will be many more guys hitting the street in the next couple of weeks, some that might surprise some folks...so I think his focus will be like last year, see what you can add short term deal wise in free agency that doesn't hurt your comp formula, then lean on the draft, then pick up some priority undrafted free agents, then spend money in waive three post draft free agency as a lot of guys might not even get cut until after the draft as teams wait and see how their draft went before cutting certain players...then after that Joe has already proven to be a money on the waiver wire claims and preseason trade market...AND he will probably be looking to make deals up until the trade deadline so folks need to be patient and just enjoy the process, Hortiz is not going to go on spending spree, that money will be used responsibly, extend your guys, Slater, Ford, Molden, and Dobbins and then maybe Bozeman, Tart, Fulton, Nieman and Dye...at that point they will only have 37-42 mil left to play with even after the Edwards, Bosa, and Pipkins cuts...and that's because of what they need to allocate for signing draft picks and in season spending budget which will be somewhere in the range of 22-24 mil required...you can still do a lot of damage with 37-42 mil in free agency but how much of that is going to cap casualty free agents and be post draft wave three free agency versus pre draft qualified free agency?

to me that's the million dollar question, how much does this FO value the 4-5 big names in qualified free agency vs the other types of free agents that won't hurt the comp formula?

Last year our big free agency signing was a cap casualty, what if Hortiz does the same thing again, are you going to be pissed with Devontae Adams on a 2 year deal versus Higgins on a 4 year deal?

what formula for one year? finishing in second place not winning a playoff game. Hortiz had limited cap space - lets see what he does this year

The Chargers need to aim higher. I want to win the division and playoff games and just not be a playoff team

Why would I be pissed about Davante Adams - not too many people on this board want him as a fallback option to Higgins more than me

as for the comp formula - coudn't give a shit this year. get some top flight talent - dont be stupid but can't be scared

[Bolt4Knob]

I don't see Higgins as a perfect fit at 30 plus mil APY, if he's signing for 2/3s of that I would be okay with that but he's not going to sign for anything under 31-32mil and it might go as high as 35mil when the bidding starts...as for the injury issues, that's a real concern for that type of money...

at that point I'd rather we got Adams for 2 years at 21-22mil APY, and he's not an injury prone guy...OR you can bring back MWs for 2 years at 11-13mil APY...few teams in the NFL run less passing plays than the Chargers, so to me spending that type of money for a high volume WR guy that will have reduced volume with us doesn't sound like a good fit...it's all in how you look at it, you have to see the whole picture not just the Madden one size fits all rating type of approach...

You have no clue what the offense will be once the offense has a better WR next to Ladd

and Mike Williams is not that receiver. he had a shitty year last year. no excuses - he is done. washed

[Chargers8491]

I don't see Higgins as a perfect fit at 30 plus mil APY, if he's signing for 2/3s of that I would be okay with that but he's not going to sign for anything under 31-32mil and it might go as high as 35mil when the bidding starts...as for the injury issues, that's a real concern for that type of money...

at that point I'd rather we got Adams for 2 years at 21-22mil APY, and he's not an injury prone guy...OR you can bring back MWs for 2 years at 11-13mil APY...few teams in the NFL run less passing plays than the Chargers, so to me spending that type of money for a high volume WR guy that will have reduced volume with us doesn't sound like a good fit...it's all in how you look at it, you have to see the whole picture not just the Madden one size fits all rating type of approach...

No way Higgins will get more than Jefferson. He won't be the highest paid WR in the league. Jefferson's contract was 4yr/140mil that's 35mil/yr. He will likely be somewhere around 4yr/120mil.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Do any of the trenchers here have an opinion on Josh Myers as a center if we cant get Drew Dalman? I think he is 26 and is the starter in GB

[Fouts2herbert]

Do any of the trenchers here have an opinion on Josh Myers as a center if we cant get Drew Dalman? I think he is 26 and is the starter in GB

My guess is that neither of those two players fit the scheme that the Chargers run...

[Boltjolt]

Do any of the trenchers here have an opinion on Josh Myers as a center if we cant get Drew Dalman? I think he is 26 and is the starter in GB

Myers is known as GBs OL weak link is what I've read. Not sure if he much of an upgrade than Bozeman, or an upgrade at all..

[Fouts2herbert]

what formula for one year? finishing in second place not winning a playoff game. Hortiz had limited cap space - lets see what he does this year

The Chargers need to aim higher. I want to win the division and playoff games and just not be a playoff team

Why would I be pissed about Davante Adams - not too many people on this board want him as a fallback option to Higgins more than me

as for the comp formula - coudn't give a shit this year. get some top flight talent - dont be stupid but can't be scared

Wow, you make it sound like 2024 was a total failure, interesting take...I'm referring to the formula that improved our team from 5-12 to 11-6, THAT formula...

Another draft is another year of filtering out another 8-9 Telesco guys for players that play a more physical punishing brand of football, continue playing the comp game, the post draft free agency game etc...this team is going to be greatly improved, already in one short year we saw how these coaches turned guys that hadn't excelled under Staley into viable players, now those same players will be a year better and Hortiz guys will have a year of experience under their belts and I feel confident that Hortiz will continue to find young guys that will come in and play pivotal roles on the team right away from the very get go...

so yeah repeat the formula where you improve the talent level replacing Telesco guys with Hortiz guys and getting younger and stronger in the trenches...each year Hortiz will continue stacking young talent and this team will continue to improve, it just takes time and good solid drafts like the one we had in 2024...this 2025 team is going to be a much better team than the 2024 team was I feel very confident about that, very conident...and that will continue to happen regardless of whether Joe drafts or signs guys that people on this forum don't want or like...the man knows what he's doing and his one year tenure already includes a playoff appearance right off the bat, it's only going to get better and better over the next couple of seasons...

[wu-dai clan]

"Proof of concept" is a popular term lately with pundits.

It is mentioned regarding GRo and our final three regular season games, when things started to work, finally.

This is the way.

Fix what went wrong vs HOU in the AFCWCG.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Myers is known as GBs OL weak link is what I've read. Not sure if he much of an upgrade than Bozeman, or an upgrade at all..

Packers drafted him in the 2nd round of 2021 draft so he has some pedigree. He is durable. Has started all 56 games since he was drafted. I am not sure about the level of his play, but his pass blocking cant be any worse than what Bozeman gave the Chargers.

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Adams would be cheaper...and still has some gas left in the tank...

Ferraris are cheaper than Lamborghinis, too, but do you really want to spend such a significant portion of your budget on either, when an Acura is available?

[Ghost of Quacksaw]

Packers drafted him in the 2nd round of 2021 draft so he has some pedigree. He is durable. Has started all 56 games since he was drafted. I am not sure about the level of his play, but his pass blocking cant be any worse than what Bozeman gave the Chargers.

He sucks, and he's durable. That's important, when you want to get every last drop of 'inadequate' out of a guy.

I'll just go out on a limb here and say that he could use some help with his resume.