Offseason In Review: Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers entered free agency with nearly $100MM in cap space, but the team revealed a conservative free agency blueprint will be the norm this year. After low-cost outside investments populated the first two Charger payrolls under Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz, the organization did not bolster its roster with splashy outside additions. Instead, retention became the place to look for Bolts spending.

We covered the franchise’s OC shift from Greg Roman to Mike McDaniel in our Offseason Outlook, and while that change may still be the most notable move from the Bolts’ offseason, several roster decisions proved pivotal in the months since. Extending Derwin James and paying Khalil Mack once again, the Chargers believe in a core that has made back-to-back playoff appearances. They will hope this group can help Justin Herbert drive the team to a level jump during a competitive period for the AFC West.

Extensions and restructures:

Harbaugh has offered high praise for James many times during his Chargers HC tenure, and Hortiz called a third contract for the All-Pro safety a clear priority this offseason. The team has seen the once-injury-prone safety solidify himself as one of the game’s best defensive backs. James has shaken off the injury trouble that marred his early career and has camped on the All-Pro second team. Earning that recognition in three of the past four seasons, James has offered the Chargers his trademark versatility and is already one of the best defenders in franchise history.

A chess piece for Jesse Minter and previous Bolts DCs, James will continue in that role under Minter successor Chris O’Leary. The latter was James’ position coach in 2024, and after a year back in the college ranks as a DC and safeties coach (Western Michigan), O’Leary will be coaching a higher-priced version of the four-time All-Pro. James’ new deal topped Kyle Hamilton’s to make him the game’s highest-paid safety.

The Harbaughs value this position, even as some teams choose to allocate big money elsewhere. A year after John Harbaugh’s Ravens made Hamilton the league’s first $25MM-per-year safety — a move that created a new market tier for the position — his younger brother signed off on a $25.2MM-AAV accord for James. Hortiz, who was with the Ravens when they drafted Hamilton, has made it clear with words and actions he values building from within. Some teams pay lip service to that NFL mantra, but the Chargers’ first three Harbaugh offseasons back up the talk.

James’ lone first-team All-Pro season came as a rookie in 2018, but he played only five games over the next two seasons. After missing all of the 2020 campaign, James roared back and put himself in position for a market-setting payday by 2022.

Then-GM Tom Telesco rewarded him with a four-year, $76MM deal in summer 2022. That contract paced the field for more than 18 months, with the Buccaneers’ 2024 Antoine Winfield Jr. franchise tag leading to him becoming the league’s first $20MM-AAV safety. As Kerby Joseph and then Hamilton eclipsed that, James continued to excel for a Chargers team that has mostly relied on mid- and lower-level contracts on defense under Harbaugh.

Although Mack has signed two pricey one-year deals with the Chargers, James’ contracts have cemented him as the defense’s cornerstone. He benefits from Hamilton’s negotiating work, and the Chargers are paying the new going rate despite James (now 30) being five years older than the Ravens star.

Los Angeles continues to deploy James across the formation. He has 19 career sacks and 40 tackles for loss; only Budda Baker has more TFLs among safeties since James entered the league, and the Cardinals safety has played many more games to get there. James logged more than 100 snaps at free safety, in the box, in the slot and on the defensive line in 2025. The rangy DB intercepted three passes last season, which came after he helped an underfunded Bolts 2024 defense by making a career-high 10 TFLs.

James is under contract through 2029 via this latest extension, and he secured a rolling guarantee structure. The Florida State alum scored fully guaranteed compensation in 2026 and ’27, and if/when he is on the Bolts’ roster by Day 3 of the 2027 league year, $13.5MM of his 2028 compensation locks in. A $3MM roster bonus is in place for 2029.

Re-signings:

• Khalil Mack, OLB. One year, $18MM ($18MM guaranteed)
• Teair Tart, DT. Three years, $30MM ($15MM guaranteed)
• Trey Pipkins, OL. Two years, $10MM ($4.58MM guaranteed)
• Del’Shawn Phillips, ILB. Two years, $7.5MM ($4MM guaranteed)
• Trevor Penning, OL. One year, $3.5MM ($3.5MM guaranteed)
• Trey Lance, QB. One year, $2.5MM ($2MM guaranteed)
• Josh Harris, LS. One year, $1.82MM ($1.82MM guaranteed)
• Tony Jefferson, S. One year, $1.5MM ($1.4MM guaranteed)
• Denzel Perryman, ILB. One year, $2.79MM ($500K guaranteed)
• JK Scott, P. One year, $2.35MM

The Chargers gave both Mack and Joey Bosa pay cuts in 2024, but the Harbaugh regime has preferred the older player as a defensive anchor. Mack has now re-signed on two one-year deals worth $18MM. Cap growth makes this latest agreement effectively a pay cut, but Mack set a record for a non-franchise-tagged quarterback by inking a one-year deal worth $18MM in 2025. Matching it at 35 is still impressive, regardless of the cap’s steady climb.

Teeing off on overmatched Raiders rookie Aidan O’Connell in a six-sack 2023 showing helped Mack to his only double-digit sack season this decade, but he has remained a valuable asset — hence the $18MM contracts. Mack has opted against retiring in each of the past two offseasons and is going into Year 5 as a Charger. Acquired from the Bears to be Bosa’s sidekick, Mack is still going while Bosa (31) is not on a roster entering the season.

Mack suffered a dislocated elbow in Week 2 last season but only missed four games as a result. He nearly matched his 2024 sack total, registering 5.5 in 12 games, and added a safety. Mack was also one of the best against the run, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 12th among edge defenders in that area.

Not the All-Pro level force he was with the Raiders and Bears, Mack now looks like a stopgap option while the Bolts ready first-round pick Akheem Mesidor. Buoyed by the O’Connell game, Mack registered 17 sacks and 21 TFLs in 2023; he has not otherwise eclipsed eight in a season since 2020. The Chargers, who still roster Bud Dupree, paid a premium to make sure they have Mack in place while developing Mesidor opposite Tuli Tuipulotu. But the combination of a competitive Mack market and a Chargers team not especially interested in outside FAs solidified this arrangement.

After asking Minter to make do with a unit filled with modest investments, the Chargers did add a third eight-figure-per-year defender in O’Leary’s first DC offseason. Unsurprisingly, it came from within. Tart has now gone from being cut twice in an eight-month span (by the Titans and Dolphins) to a $10MM-per-year player. James, Mack and Tart are the only Charger defenders tied to AAVs north of $6.5MM, however. The blueprint is effectively the same for O’Leary as it was for Minter.

Tart initially joined the Bolts on a one-year, $1.13MM deal after his Dolphins release. He then commanded a one-year, $4.5MM pact in 2025. After proving a fit, the run stuffer cashed in. The team opted not to pay Poona Ford in 2025, allowing him to leave for a $9.2MM-per-year Rams contract, but deemed Tart a keeper. Although PFF ranked Ford fifth against the run last season, it slotted Tart seventh among interior D-linemen in that area.

Lance is still just 26, but this is Year 6 for the disappointing top-three draftee. Amazingly, Lance still has just 517 pass attempts since he graduated high school. After the pandemic sidetracked his North Dakota State career, Lance’s 2022 opportunity as the 49ers’ starter ended up derailed by a fractured ankle. Though, his post-San Francisco work effectively revealed the high-stakes whiff the NFC West team made in 2021.

While Lance’s 2023 training camp QB2 loss to Sam Darnold has aged pretty well, he failed to gain Mike McCarthy’s trust in Dallas. With Dak Prescott sidelined for the second half of the 2024 season, Lance played behind Cooper Rush for most of that stretch. This has been one of the most disappointing QB careers in recent NFL history.

The Chargers placed a low bar for Lance to clear in the offseason, only pitting rookie UDFA/maligned college QB D.J. Uiagalelei against him. The Bolts did not name Lance their backup until late August, waiving the former Clemson Trevor Lawrence successor. Uiagalelei re-signed on a practice squad deal. The much-hyped 2021 first round has Lawrence in a starting role, Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones as backups and Zach Wilson as the Saints’ third-stringer.

Also a Telesco add who has drawn praise from Harbaugh, Pipkins remains a key backup on an injury-prone O-line. Despite the Bolts changing schemes upon hiring McDaniel, Pipkins — who has seen extensive work at tackle and guard — remained a priority. The former RT and RG starter was part of a five-man LG battle in training camp — one that went to free agency addition Kayode Awosika — but Pipkins (66 career starts) represents valuable swing depth. Having seen extensive time at LT, RT and LG, Penning (33 starts) fell behind in the crowded LG battle but made the 53-man roster as an insurance option.

Harbaugh paid up at linebacker during his 49ers days, with Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman landing big-ticket deals. The Chargers have not prioritized the position similarly, but they do not exactly have All-Pro-level talent here. Perryman is back at 33, though he is on short-term IR to open the season. That leaves Phillips, who has primarily been a special-teamer in in six pro seasons, as the starter alongside Daiyan Henley.

The Bolts had eyed ex-Harbaugh Michigan charge Junior Colson for that role in the past, but he did not make the 53-man roster after an injury-negated 2025. This represents a big opportunity for Phillips, who has made three career starts. The former UDFA (30 next month) has played for five NFL teams.

His most notable season came last season, when he earned second-team All-Pro acclaim as a special-teamer. Like safety Jeremy Reaves in Washington, a soon-to-be 30-year-old ST mainstay will have a late-career opportunity to start — as the Chargers keep costs low at linebacker.

Free agency additions:

• Charlie Kolar, TE. Three years, $24.3MM ($17MM guaranteed)
• Tyler Biadasz, C. Three years, $30MM ($15MM guaranteed)
• Cole Strange, G. Two years, $13MM ($7MM guaranteed)
• Dalvin Tomlinson, DT. One year, $6.5MM ($5.69MM guaranteed)
• Keaton Mitchell, RB. Two years, $9.25MM ($5MM guaranteed)
• Alec Ingold, FB. Two years, $7.5MM ($3.56MM guaranteed)
• David Njoku, TE. One year, $3MM ($850K guaranteed)
• Kayode Awosika, G. One year, $2MM ($300K guaranteed)

BIadasz managed the same contract as a street free agent as the one he was tied to in Washington; though, like Mack, cap growth made it worth less in the grand scheme. The Bolts added Biadasz after being linked to Tyler Linderbaum. The latter’s market soared to a whopping $27MM per year, pricing out many teams.

The Chargers’ Harbaugh/Hortiz free agency M.O. runs counter to a monster center payday, as a previous Bolts regime was in charge when the team made Corey Linsley the NFL’s highest-paid center as a 2021 UFA, but the Biadasz deal was still notable.

Also looking into Elgton Jenkins — who ended up with a two-year, $24MM Browns contract — the Chargers agreed to terms with Biadasz before the legal tampering period. That checked center off the team’s to-do list, but the seventh-year veteran’s season-ending ACL injury scrapped those plans. Biadasz secured $4.75MM of his $9.75MM 2027 base salary guaranteed at signing; the rest locks in on Day 3 of the ’27 league year. That will be a date to monitor after the injury.

At guard, the Chargers are going with Strange and Awosika following another challenging year up front. Strange follows McDaniel from Miami, where the former New England first-rounder showed signs of life after struggling as a Patriot. It is not like Strange is a set-it-and-forget-it right guard option, though.

PFF ranked him 57th among guard regulars last season. The advanced metrics site viewed him as a top-25 guard in 2023, but a patellar tendon tear ended that season and cost him most of 2024. At 28, Strange has a quality opportunity to craft a second act in Los Angeles.

He will do so opposite Awosika, who won one of the more jampacked position battles in recent memory. Awosika beat out Pipkins, Penning and Branson Taylor for the job; second-rounder Jake Slaughter was in the competition but shifted to center — his college role — once Biadasz went down. Awosika has been a career backup, making 11 spot starts in Detroit. Pipkins represents important insurance in case the sixth-year blocker struggles.

Ingold joined Strange as a McDaniel Miami charge following the OC west, while Hortiz was in Baltimore’s front office when Mitchell arrived as a 2023 UDFA. Mitchell flashed brightly as a rookie, averaging an eye-popping 8.4 yards per carry (even on 47 attempts, that is impressive) but saw his debut end with an ACL tear. That made an impact on the No. 1-seeded Ravens, who had (again) lost J.K. Dobbins that September.

The injury spoiled Mitchell’s 2024 season, but he reemerged as an intriguing Derrick Henry complementary back last year (5.8 YPC on 58 totes). Omarion Hampton is the Chargers’ clear-cut starter, but seeing how effective speedster De’Von Achane was in Miami makes the elusive Mitchell more appealing than his thin resume otherwise would. The fourth-year RB’s $5MM guarantee stood out, as it almost matches what the Bolts gave Najee Harris ($5.25MM) last spring.

This was a big offseason for ex-Ravens tight ends. Isaiah Likely commanded $20.5MM guaranteed at signing. As PFR’s top-ranked FA tight end, that was not a surprising number. Kolar approaching that figure certainly reflected a strong market for a player who served as a third wheel in a Likely- and Mark Andrews-fronted Ravens TE corps. Andrews remains in Baltimore after signing a second Ravens extension late last season, but reunions commenced elsewhere with Likely (John Harbaugh) and Kolar (Hortiz).

PFF graded Kolar as a top-10 run-blocking tight end last season, and rumors the Chargers could start him proved accurate The former fourth-round pick will replace Will Dissly, who lost time to Oronde Gadsden II last season. Njoku’s arrival is curious considering Gadsden’s rookie-year showing (49 catches, 664 yards). The Chargers have the 2025 fifth-rounder listed as their third-string tight end to start the McDaniel era.

Njoku, 30, was a key weapon for Joe Flacco down the stretch of the Browns’ 2023 playoff run, and he had established a rapport with Jacoby Brissett the year prior. He did not command a big market after playing out a four-year, $54.75MM deal, however. Njoku has primarily played as an in-line tight end, logging far more snaps there than in the slot. Gadsden, whose father was a big-bodied wide receiver for some Dan Marino-led Dolphins teams, began his Syracuse career as a wideout and was playing receiver (296 snaps) nearly as much as an inline TE (321) as a Charger rookie.

It will be interesting to see if the Chargers actually reduce a productive receiving TE’s workload, but McDaniel’s offense has done this in the past. Mike Gesicki went from a two-time 700-yard Dolphins pass catcher to a franchise-tagged player — in 2022, McDaniel’s first offseason in Miami — to one whose usage cratered in this offensive scheme.

Like Ford and Tart before him, Tomlinson arrives as a castoff who accepted a pay cut upon joining the Chargers. The Browns and Cardinals each cut the veteran D-tackle over the past two years, and after scoring multiyear guarantees in each of his past three free agency deals, Tomlinson (32) is on a one-year accord.

Playing in both 4-3 and 3-4 schemes previously, Tomlinson was far more active as a pass rusher in Cleveland (30 QB hits from 2023-24) than Arizona (three in 17 games). PFF viewed Tomlinson as a bottom-10 interior D-lineman with the Cards but graded him far better as a 4-3 Browns DT. The Bolts use a 3-4 scheme, but they have coaxed bounce-back seasons from low-priced DT vets in recent years.

Notable losses:

• Keenan Allen, WR
• Mekhi Becton, RG (released)
• Bradley Bozeman, C (retired)
• Tyler Conklin, TE
• Austin Deculus, T
• Will Dissly, TE (released)
• Da’Shawn Hand, DL
• Najee Harris, RB
• Bobby Hart, T
• Hassan Haskins, RB
• Zion Johnson, LG
• Kyle Kennard, OLB (waived via injury settlement)
• Otito Ogbonnia, DL
• Odafe Oweh, OLB
• Jamaree Salyer, OL
• Benjamin St-Juste, CB
• Ja’Sir Taylor, DB

Based on the contracts given to Oweh and Alohi Gilman, it is fairly easy to judge the Chargers as the winner of the Harbaugh-Harbaugh midseason trade. Oweh played well enough to become a franchise tag candidate, but the Bolts passed on a pricey cap hold and ended up making him a rental piece. The Chargers made Oweh an offer, but with a big-ticket Tuli Tuipulotu extension on the radar, it seemed unrealistic for the former to stay. Indeed, Washington signed the former first-round EDGE to a four-year, $96MM deal.

Also making Johnson an offer to stay, the Chargers did not appear too interested in keeping their 2022 first-round pick. After declining Johnson’s fifth-year option, Hortiz was content to let him test the market. Johnson, who worked as L.A.’s right guard as a rookie and left guard for the past three seasons, scored a three-year Browns deal worth $49.5MM.

PFR’s top-ranked guard in a free agency class that did not have a host of proven young options, Johnson secured $32.4MM guaranteed at signing — the most of any FA guard this offseason — and will be protecting Watson (and then probably a 2027 first-round pick) in Cleveland.

Johnson did not provide a spectacular return on investment for the Chargers, but on a line that keeps running into major injuries, he was almost always available (65 starts). Considering Strange’s injury history and Awosika’s past as a backup, a cap-rich Chargers team letting Johnson walk may prove costly. Then again, McDaniel had his own fits in mind as he adjusts the team’s scheme.

No team has signed Becton, whom the Bolts gave a two-year deal worth $20MM in March 2025. The Super Bowl LIX starter with the Eagles, Becton battled injuries once again and underwhelmed in L.A. Harris did eventually catch on after an injury-marred Chargers stop, joining the Giants on a vet-minimum deal. Harris missed most Chargers preseason work because of an eye injury sustained in a fireworks accident, and he suffered an Achilles tear in Week 3.

Despite Allen returning to the Chargers at 33 and on a much cheaper contract than the one Harbaugh traded in 2024, he led the team in targets last season. The franchise’s all-time leading receiver out-targeted Ladd McConkey — to the dismay of the latter’s sizable sect of fantasy GMs — and finished with 777 receiving yards (McConkey closed at 789, a steep drop from his 1,149-yard rookie season) in 17 games.

Allen’s presence also limited second-round rookie Tre Harris’ usage, though the Chargers did give Herbert a more diverse weaponry array than he had in 2024. Now, Allen is gone and Gadsden will likely see his role reduced.

While Hortiz said another Allen reunion was in play, the six-time 1,000-yard receiver joined the Colts (one year, $3.32MM) during training camp. Allen previously played under Shane Steichen in San Diego and Los Angeles and is poised to operate as Indianapolis’ No. 3 wideout alongside Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. This should clear the way for Harris to work as L.A.’s clear WR3 complementing McConkey and Quentin Johnston.

Draft:

• Round 1, No. 22: Akheem Mesidor (EDGE, Miami) (signed)
• Round 2, No. 63 (from Patriots): Jake Slaughter, C (Florida) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 105 (from Giants via Browns): Brenen Thompson (WR, Mississippi State) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 117 (from Vikings via Jaguars, Raiders and Texans): Travis Burke (T, Memphis) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 131 (from Patriots): Genesis Smith (S, Arizona) (signed)
• Round 5, No. 145 (from Giants via Browns): Nick Barrett (DT, South Carolina) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 202 (from Steelers via Chargers): Logan Taylor (G, Boston College) (signed)
• Round 6, No. 206 (from Bears via Browns): Alex Harkey (T, Oregon) (signed)

A pre-draft report of the Chargers prioritizing edge rusher and guard did well to lay out the team’s plans. Both Mesidor and Slaughter could have begun their careers as backups, but the Chargers will turn to their second-rounder as a starter and their first-rounder as a Week 1 backup. Mesidor will have a clear path to a starting role by 2027, however, as Khalil Mack is nearing the end of his potential Hall of Fame career.

The Chargers have rostered deep edge-rushing units during Harbaugh’s time. Tuipulotu was not even a full-time starter in Harbaugh’s first season, with the Bosa-Mack tandem still in place. Dupree has brought experience to the OLB4 role — one that usually goes to younger, developing players rather than seasoned vets — in each of his two seasons in L.A. Mesidor rounds out another deep arsenal of edge rushers, joining Mack, Tuipulotu and Dupree. That trio will allow for a gradual ascent, though the Miami alum’s age does not point to a long runway.

Mesidor fell to 22nd in part because he turned 25 before the draft. Three years older than Hurricanes EDGE counterpart Rueben Bain Jr., Mesidor spent six years in college (West Virginia and Miami). He has a more traditional D-line frame than Bain, whose arm length generated scrutiny, and was more productive last season as Miami made a surprise run to the CFP title game.

Mesidor led the ACC with 12.5 sacks last season while also registering a Miami-most 17.5 TFLs and four forced fumbles. Some teams viewed Mesidor as the more appealing Miami EDGE option, though the Buccaneers chose Bain at 15.

More than a year older than Tuipulotu, Mesidor could be under Chargers control through 2030 (fifth-year option pending). That may complicate matters for the former Hurricane standout’s second contract, as he would turn 30 soon after his Bolts rookie deal expires. It would surprise if the Chargers let Tuipulotu walk in 2027, but Mesidor would offer protection in case the standout ex-second-rounder shifts away from the team’s long-term plan.

Before trading out of the third round (via the Browns), the Chargers moved down eight spots and selected Slaughter. The team had been cross-training the Florida prospect at center and left guard. It will be interesting to see how Slaughter fares at the pivot. While that was his primary college position, the Biadasz injury changed the Chargers’ plans for their second-rounder late in training camp.

Dane Brugler’s The Athletic big board ranked Slaughter as the draft’s top center but slotted him 89th overall. The Bears did not agree Slaughter was the top center available, having drafted Logan Jones 57th overall. A Rimington Award finalist last season, Slaughter was the SEC’s first-team center in 2024 and ’25. Set to turn 24 this season, Slaughter joins Mesidor as a rookie that should not need as much acclimation time. Both will see early action, but Slaughter — who will replace unremarkable center Bradley Bozeman — will be asked to do much more from the start.

Trades:

These two depth trades allowed the Chargers to retain Tony Jefferson on their initial 53-man roster. The team had plans to release the veteran, who has been with the Bolts throughout the Harbaugh-Hortiz era after both playing for the Ravens and working with Hortiz in the Baltimore scouting department in 2023. The Chargers added Smith as a UDFA out of Toledo this year and Edwards as a 2025 UDFA out of Illinois. Edwards spent last season on the Bolts’ practice squad.

Coaching/front office:

This is Gase’s first full-time NFL gig since his 2021 Jets firing. A rather unpopular figure during his time in New York, Gase has not been an assistant since his 2015 OC season with the Bears. Gase’s five-year run as Dolphins and Jets HC created considerable distance from his work with the Broncos, as most generally overlook his Denver years (as Peyton Manning was in full-on QB/OC mode by then), but the veteran coach still has that 606-point season on his resume. Gase was the play-caller for the 2013 Broncos’ record-setting offense, and Harbaugh will ask him to be part of McDaniel’s game-planning efforts.

Other:

Johnston joined the Packers’ Lukas Van Ness and the Bengals’ Myles Murphy on the option bubble this year. While Van Ness saw his exercised and Murphy saw his declined, Johnston joined the Green Bay EDGE in seeing a 2027 guarantee come his way early. A trade rumor involving Johnston emerged at free agency’s outset, but the Chargers later denied he was available.

After struggling as a rookie, Johnston has been a solid auxiliary option for the Bolts. He is transitioning to a new offense but was one of the bright spots under Greg Roman. Johnston eclipsed 700 receiving yards in 2024 and ’25 and caught eight touchdown passes in each season. Not flashing as brightly as 2017 first-rounder Mike Williams did, the 6-foot-2 wideout will be trusted to remain a McConkey supporting-caster under McDaniel.

Johnston, 25, is expected to play ahead of Tre Harris when the Chargers are in two-WR sets. Though, the latter being a Harbaugh-Hortiz draftee could make him a longer-term piece. The option gives the Bolts a longer runway to evaluate Johnston. Harris showing growth could make the TCU alum a 2027 trade chip, especially as McConkey will be extension-eligible next year. But the Chargers could also sit tight with this trio for two seasons.

Early this offseason, Hortiz identified Tuipulotu as an extension candidate. The USC product, who had been a regular rotational player and spot starter (as Bosa’s health struggles persisted), broke out last season with 13 sacks and 20 TFLs. Our Connor Byrne profiled Tuipulotu’s extension candidacy this summer, and while the Oweh and Jaelan Phillips March contracts figure to matter re: Tuipulotu, the in-house Charger can probably aim higher.

While Oweh and Phillips each played out fifth-year option seasons last year and are in their late 20s, Tuipulotu turned 24 last week. Tuipulotu’s 32 pressures last season tied him for 16th among edge rushers, and he had shown clear starter ability (8.5 sacks, 17 QB hits) in 2024, the Chargers will probably need to prepare for a payday eclipsing $30MM per year. If the Chargers are not ready to go there yet, a 2027 franchise tag will be a tool to prolong this situation.

The EDGE market exploded over the past 18 months, rising from $34MM per annum (Nick Bosa’s 49ers deal) to $50MM AAV (Will Anderson Jr.) from March 2025 to April 2026. The 2027 offseason could include a market-setting Rams-Myles Garrett extension. Tuipulotu is not a candidate to eclipse $40MM per year presently, but a breakthrough contract year — ahead of cap growth that could raise the ceiling past $320MM — could certainly vault him to that level.

Los Angeles will surely not let the USC alum — who staged a partial hold-in during training camp — escape the franchise tag application deadline unattached, barring a significant injury, but more market growth and another strong season would only drive up the top Bolts OLB’s price.

A Tuipulotu extension would pair well with Mesidor’s rookie-scale deal, and while the Chargers are not exactly one of the NFL’s most discussed teams (they might rank 32nd since the L.A. move), few players’ arrows — value-wise — point higher than Tuipulotu’s. He is poised to score a monster extension between now and the July 2027 tag extension deadline.

Top 10 cap charges for 2026:

1. Justin Herbert, QB: $46.35MM
2. Derwin James, S: $24.61MM
3. Rashawn Slater, LT: $23.8MM
4. Khalil Mack, OLB: $18MM
5. Joe Alt, RT: $9.04MM
6. Donte Jackson, CB: $8.5MM
7. Elijah Molden, S: $7.92MM
8. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT: $6.8MM
9. Tuli Tuipulotu, OLB: $6.21MM
10. Teair Tart, DT: $6.02MM

After sending Herbert out without his top tackles for most of last season, the Chargers have Slater and Alt back in their posts. That will make a big difference as McDaniel prepares to elevate the ultra-talented passer. The Bolts have not won a playoff game since 2018, and they have played poorly in each of their past three outings. While their 27-point collapse in Jacksonville highlighted this Herbert-era stretch, Harbaugh’s teams were overmatched against the Texans and Patriots in the past two wild-card rounds.

The Chargers’ decision not to use their cap space to add more help in free agency could draw scrutiny if this season produces a similar result. They are banking on McDaniel elevating an offense that ranked 24th in EPA per play last season. Herbert’s talent should make such finishes unacceptable, and Harbaugh cut the cord on Roman to hire this year’s most popular OC candidate.

With the Broncos returning just about everyone from a 14-3 season and the Chiefs having Patrick Mahomes back — though, Los Angeles went 2-0 against Kansas City with the all-time QB great starting last year — the AFC West looks loaded. But the returns of Alt and Slater coupled with McDaniel’s arrival bring plenty of intrigue around this oft-overlooked franchise. Can the Bolts finally clear that first-round playoff hurdle and make noise in what looks to be a crowded AFC picture?