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

[Bolt4Knob]

In my view at least 50% of these heavy 4 year guarantees don't work out. flip a coin and if your team gets the wrong side of it it's two additional years down the drain.

Besides Watson and Prescott - do you have examples of four year contracts where every dollar is guaranteed? It just doesn't happen that often.

Slater is a good player in the prime of his career. This is the guy to take a chance on. I agree, not everybody but franchise LT, almost a no-brainer

[gzubeck]

Besides Watson and Prescott - do you have examples of four year contracts where every dollar is guaranteed? It just doesn't happen that often.

Slater is a good player in the prime of his career. This is the guy to take a chance on. I agree, not everybody but franchise LT, almost a no-brainer

Baloney, your just not looking harder and there's much more. Try Bosa, Kupp, Jones, (JC Jackson) and that's just the tip...I would even consider Davante Adams a quasi failure.

[Bolt4Knob]

Baloney, your just not looking harder and there's much more. Try Bosa, Kupp, Jones, (JC Jackson) and that's just the tip...I would even consider Davante Adams a quasi failure.

Its a bit more complicated than you state. A lot of the times players are still on rosters as the dead cap hit would be higher than keeping the player

JC Jackson was a flop of a contract but it wasn't because all the years were guaranteed - I think it was truly only guaranteed 2 years

Adams was basically a three year contract - the last two years were fluff.

I know this - if you are not guaranteeing contracts with large signing bonus - it will be another 16 years for the Chargers to win a division. You are going to get burned in free agency - it will happen. Can't be afraid to win. Ask the Colts and Bengals.

[Boltnut]

I didn't add a WR to my FAs. Not because I don't think we will sign one, I'm just torn on who. I still don't see us paying big money to a WR and I really only want to sign one for a year.

Whether that is Adams, Keenan or D-Hop. All these guys are 32-33....so I didn't name one. Godwin is expensive and just don't think we are doing that even though he will be only 29 in a week.

I've been holding off on the FA WR talk, too. I wasn't keen about bringing Tee Higgins on board... but that was more about spending $25m/yr for 4 years. Looking at Spotrac's and OTC's market value for Davante, it looks like $13.5m/yr... about half of what Higgins is expecting. That's do-able. That's good Return-on-Investment. He wants to return to the West Coast.

QJ improved in his 2nd year... but he's still not that dependable go-to-guy. 2 years of Davante gives QJ time to prove himself. I just imagine what this offense would look like with an improved IOL, 2 solid/elite RB's, a new TE, and McConkey/Adams/QJ at WR... That would be a Top-5 offense. Pair that with an already Top-5 defense... you can make a run this year.

[Bolt4Knob]

I've been holding off on the FA WR talk, too. I wasn't keen about bringing Tee Higgins on board... but that was more about spending $25m/yr for 4 years. Looking at Spotrac's and OTC's market value for Davante, it looks like $13.5m/yr... about half of what Higgins is expecting. That's do-able. That's good Return-on-Investment. He wants to return to the West Coast.

QJ improved in his 2nd year... but he's still not that dependable go-to-guy. 2 years of Davante gives QJ time to prove himself. I just imagine what this offense would look like with an improved IOL, 2 solid/elite RB's, a new TE, and McConkey/Adams/QJ at WR... That would be a Top-5 offense. Pair that with an already Top-5 defense... you can make a run this year.

Davante is getting closer to $20 AAV - I would be money on that. At least $18m AAV

[powderblueboy]

I've been holding off on the FA WR talk, too. I wasn't keen about bringing Tee Higgins on board... but that was more about spending $25m/yr for 4 years. Looking at Spotrac's and OTC's market value for Davante, it looks like $13.5m/yr... about half of what Higgins is expecting. That's do-able. That's good Return-on-Investment. He wants to return to the West Coast.

QJ improved in his 2nd year... but he's still not that dependable go-to-guy. 2 years of Davante gives QJ time to prove himself. I just imagine what this offense would look like with an improved IOL, 2 solid/elite RB's, a new TE, and McConkey/Adams/QJ at WR... That would be a Top-5 offense. Pair that with an already Top-5 defense... you can make a run this year.

Reminds me of the Baluga signing ..... passed up on Trent Williams to get Baluga, saving 10 + million per year.

Adams will be 33 soon .... he's on the downside of his career and the drop off might be very steep next year, or the year after.

[Rugger05]

Four Chargers questions we’ll be looking to answer at the NFL combine


By Daniel Popper
Feb 24, 2025

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A compelling offseason for the Los Angeles Chargers will begin to crystallize this week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

We will be searching for details on how general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh plan to attack their roster build in Year 2. This offseason’s process will be new territory for the Hortiz-Harbaugh partnership. At this time last year, questions about the Chargers revolved around their tight salary cap situation and how they would navigate several expensive veteran contracts. This year, the Chargers are among the league leaders in cap space.

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A wholly different scope for the organization, but the quest for information this week remains the same.

Here are four questions I will be trying to answer in my travels around Indianapolis.

GO DEEPER

The Chargers' 9-step plan for a best-case scenario offseason: Mailbag What positions will the Chargers be prioritizing in free agency versus the draft?


This is at the top of the list. The Chargers are swimming in cap space this offseason, and that means they can attack the top of the market at multiple positions in free agency. The NFL informed teams in a memo last week that the cap for 2025 will land between $277.5 million and $281.5 million. This is an increase from the Over the Cap projection of $272.5 million we had been operating off of earlier in the offseason. With this new development and an expected 2025 cap hit of about $4 million for safety Elijah Molden’s new three-year deal, the Chargers could be working with more than $60 million in effective cap space, which factors in projected draft pick compensation and the cap hits the Chargers will incur to reach 51 rostered players. Factoring in an $8 million in-season budget, the Chargers could spend $52 million on 2025 cap hits for players not currently on the roster, including internal and external free agents.

I am curious to dig into what positions Hortiz and Harbaugh will be eyeing on the free-agent market. Are they going to be in on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Trey Smith, the best guard available? What about Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman? Will they be looking to add an upper-market cornerback to fill the No. 1 role on the outside? D.J. Reed, Charvarius Ward, Carlton Davis and Byron Murphy are all potential options. Or are they comfortable with a starting pairing of Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still? If they are, then they could instead look for depth pieces in the draft.

How do they feel about a veteran-laden group of free-agent receivers? Will they be looking at the top of the market at edge rusher, even if they can re-sign Khalil Mack? It is a deep edge rusher draft class, so that might be the better option to fill out that room.

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My sense right now is interior offensive line will be the priority for Harbaugh and Hortiz. But I will be searching for a defined framework as far as how the Chargers plan to address needs in free agency and the draft. Who is coming back among the internal free agents?


The Chargers have 26 players set to hit unrestricted free agency when the new league year officially begins March 12. Harbaugh said last month that he wants to keep the roster as close to intact as possible from 2024 to 2025. It will be very difficult — if not impossible — to bring back everyone. That is the nature of the business but I want to find out which of these 26 players Hortiz and Harbaugh are prioritizing.

After Molden’s re-signing, I think there are five pending free agents who are most important: Mack, defensive lineman Poona Ford, defensive lineman Teair Tart, defensive lineman Morgan Fox and running back J.K. Dobbins. Part of the information-gathering this week will be gauging the markets on these five players. Would Mack really consider playing elsewhere? Or does he still believe the Chargers give him the best chance at his first Super Bowl ring? Ford was excellent for the Chargers last season. Did he play his way into a contract too expensive for the Chargers? Would any of the pending free agents be willing to take a discount with the Chargers because of familiarity and proof of success in the program?

How the Chargers approach their internal free agents will inform their approach to the external market.

Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater has a chance to reset the market at his position this offseason. (Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images) Where do the Rashawn Slater negotiations stand?


As I wrote earlier this offseason, I think there is incentive on both sides for a deal to get done in the coming months between left tackle Rashawn Slater and the Chargers.

I will be looking for a barometer on where those negotiations stand. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tristan Wirfs reset the tackle market in August when he signed for $28.125 million in average per year. Slater is coming off a stellar season, particularly in pass protection, and should be looking to reset the market again, ahead of Wirfs. Are the Chargers willing to get to that number?

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Additionally, what will be the length of the contract? The Chargers will likely be looking for more team control in a five-year deal. Slater should be looking for a shorter-term deal that would allow him to negotiate an extension or hit free agency as soon as possible. Right now, I think they end up with a four-year extension. I will be digging on the monetary value and length of the extension. What is Joey Bosa’s future?


The Chargers do not necessarily have to make any cap-related cuts before the new league year begins. Last offseason, they had to make decisions on Bosa, receiver Mike Williams, receiver Keenan Allen and Mack. All four of those players had cap hits exceeding $30 million. The Chargers had to address these contracts to become cap compliant and create enough space for bargain signings. In the end, they traded Allen, cut Williams and negotiated pay cuts with Bosa and Mack.

This year, the deadlines and stakes are different. They could hypothetically keep Bosa on the books at this $36.47 million cap hit through the new league year. He has a roster bonus of $12.36 million due on March 14. The Chargers need to make a decision by then. They can save more than $25 million in space by cutting or trading Bosa.

The Chargers might as well ask Bosa to take a pay cut for a second straight season. He took a $7 million pay cut last offseason as part of a contract restructure. But I do not know if Bosa would be open to that again. If he does not relent, he would force the Chargers’ hand, and the likeliest outcome is he would hit the open market with the chance to pick his landing spot.

When I spoke to Bosa in January, he said this about the pay cut he took last offseason: “I wouldn’t say I felt disrespected or anything, because I totally understand. I understood it. But yeah, nobody wants to take less money, obviously.”

At the same time, Bosa has said he wants to retire as a Charger. I do not think he can stay on the roster at his current cap hit. It makes for a bit of a messy situation, especially considering the long list of injuries Bosa has dealt with over the past three seasons. I will be asking about how this situation gets resolved

[electricgold]

Harbuagh just hired the OC of Michigan Kirk Campbell! Does this mean if Roman doesn't come out of the gate strong next season, Campbell slides into OC here?

[Boltnut]

Here is the thing - at Michigan, he had a different talent level than the NFL. Especially that National Championship team. So the hope is that he adapts his coaching in the NFL to the actual talent. Like Mason Graham, IDL for Michigan, for the competition, the Chargers do not have a dominant IDL that Minter had with Graham. CB - Will Johnson I think is going to be a top 10 pick at CB. Mike Sainstiril (CB) was a 2nd round pick ; Junior Colson, LB, 3rd round pick. Kris Jenkins was a 3rd round pick for the Bengals. I just looked it up a couple other guys were drafted.

That defense was loaded. Probably 8 plus guys on that defense were or will be drafted Hell, did Grant even play ahead of Graham and Jenkins when Minter was the DC

So to say the defense Grant played in will be the same - thats a stretch. Conceptually maybe but that Michigan team had much more talent.

We don't know what Graham, Johnson, or Grant will become. We know that Colson (38), Jenkins (45.5), and Sainristil (66) didn't produce like we thought they were going to. Maybe Minter is able to get more out of less. We know he took a bunch of cast-offs (Ford, Tart, Perrymann, Fulton, Molden) and made them into the #1 scoring defense in the NFL.

When you look at Minter's last 3 years at Michigan (especially the edge players)... you see a lot of different players, with different talent levels, playing different roles. I don't think he has to rely upon certain traits/players to win. Unlike Staley, he's flexible. There might be certain concepts he adheres to... but using existing players to their strengths seems to be his strength.

[Boltnut]

Davante is getting closer to $20 AAV - I would be money on that. At least $18m AAV

It's a little weird that he restricted himself to a West Coast team then.
The Rams are trying to unload their older, expensive WR.
The 49ers just gave Aiyuk an expensive extension.
Neither team will have the cap money to compete in the chase.

We'll see what happens... but the Chargers appear to be in the driver's seat.
If it's $18-20m/yr... I'd pass.

[Boltnut]

Reminds me of the Baluga signing ..... passed up on Trent Williams to get Baluga, saving 10 + million per year.

Adams will be 33 soon .... he's on the downside of his career and the drop off might be very steep next year, or the year after.

Wow... signing Adams doesn't remind me of the Bulaga signing at all.

[Rugger05]

It's a little weird that he restricted himself to a West Coast team then.
The Rams are trying to unload their older, expensive WR.
The 49ers just gave Aiyuk an expensive extension.
Neither team will have the cap money to compete in the chase.

We'll see what happens... but the Chargers appear to be in the driver's seat.
If it's $18-20m/yr... I'd pass.

I personally would not go over $16m for two years, or maybe a three year deal that is front loaded so you can get out of it next year. Chargers need an X WR bad and I think Adams still has something left in the tank. They can maybe take a project later in this upcoming draft