Corey Linsley

Chargers Release C Corey Linsley

By Sam Robinson | at June 5, 2024 12:12 pm

Transactions with retired players for cap purposes have transpired this week. The Eagles moved Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox to their reserve/retired list, while the Buccaneers did the same with Ryan Jensen, who retired earlier this offseason. The Chargers are making a different move with Corey Linsley.

While Linsley is expected to retire, the Bolts are moving on via release. Chargers president John Spanos said Linsley “has taken his last snap in the NFL,” and this release will conclude the veteran center’s run with the Bolts. The Chargers will create a bit of cap space by making this move.

Linsley, the Chargers’ center from 2021-23, being cut after June 1 will create $1.2MM in cap savings for the team. Had the Bolts made this cut prior to June 1, they would have been hit with more than $5MM in dead money. Doing so now keeps the dead cap figure at $2.6MM, with the remainder of the money being pushed to 2025.

The Bolts and Linsley agreed on a restructure in February; that transaction dropped the veteran blocker’s 2024 base salary to the veteran minimum. That laid the groundwork for Wednesday’s release.

Linsley, 32, played in just three games last season. The Chargers placed the former Pro Bowler on IR after Week 3 due to a “non-emergent heart-related medical issue.” This abruptly halted a standout career for Linsley, who emerged from fifth-round pick to a player who once commanded a record-setting center deal. He was still playing at a high level when the medical issue transpired, having — per Pro Football Focus — not allowed a sack over his final 1,572 pass-blocking snaps. That covered his entire Chargers career.

The team, which changed coaches and GMs since Linsley last played, began its transition away from the talented center last season. The Bolts have since signed Bradley Bozeman, who is expected to transition from Carolina’s first-string snapper to the same role in Los Angeles.

After playing out his second Packers contract, Linsley signed a then-position-record five-year, $62.5MM deal to help the Bolts during Justin Herbert‘s rookie contract. Linsley joined Rashawn Slater and Matt Feiler as starter additions on the Chargers’ O-line that offseason. Slater remains in place as the Bolts’ left tackle to start the Jim Harbaugh era, while Linsley will transition away from the NFL after 10 seasons.

A Chargers team that needed to release Mike Williams to move under the 2024 salary ceiling will bump its cap-space figure beyond $27MM via the Linsley release. The team still needs to sign its first- and second-round picks (Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey), however.

Chargers, C Corey Linsley Agree To Restructure

By Adam La Rose | at February 19, 2024 12:20 pm

Chargers center Corey Linsley has likely played his final NFL game. In a move further pointing in that direction, he has agreed to adjust his contract ahead of an expected retirement announcement.

Linsley agreed to lower his base salary to the veteran’s minimum for 2024, per ESPN’s Field Yates. That figure was scheduled to be $11.5MM, but today’s move creates $10.29MM in cap space for Los Angeles. The former All-Pro will now be positioned to retire after June 1; doing so will allow the Chargers to spread out the dead cap hit remaining on his contract over a two-year span.

After being limited to just three games in the 2023 season, Linsley confirmed last month he is “99%” likely to retire. The longtime Packers starter was sidelined due to a heart-related issue, and it will cause him to hang up his cleats later this offseason. This arrangement will result in a $2.6MM dead cap charge for 2025, the final year of Linsley’s deal, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap notes.

The 32-year-old played out his rookie contract with Green Bay, then inked a three-year, $25.5MM deal to remain with the Packers. He maintained his status as one of the game’s top centers over that span, creating a lucrative market when he reached free agency in 2021. Los Angeles gave him a five-year pact averaging $12.5MM per year. That represented a record for centers at the time, and led to high expectations for his venture to the West Coast.

Linsley earned second-team All-Pro honors in his debut Chargers campaign, along with his lone Pro Bowl nod. He managed to suit for 14 games the following year, but his health issue resulted in the second year of his career which featured significant missed time. In his absence, the Chargers underperformed along the offensive line. The team ranked last in PFF’s run-blocking grades for 2023.

While today’s move provides further clarity on the need to replace Linsley, doing so could be a challenge in free agency. Even with the added spending power for this year, Los Angeles is one of several teams currently projected to be well over the salary cap when the new league year begins. The draft could offer an addition along the interior O-line, though no options in that department will be considered with the N0. 5 selection. The Chargers’ next pick is 37th overall, which could fall in range for a center prospect.

Chargers To Place C Corey Linsley On IR

By Adam La Rose | at September 29, 2023 4:41 pm

The Chargers will be without a starter up front for the foreseeable future. Center Corey Linsley will be placed on IR Saturday, as detailed by Daniel Popper of The Athletic (subscription required).

Linsley is dealing with what the team called a “non-emergent heart-related medical issue.” While he turns his attention to recovery from the ailment, his IR placement will force him to miss at least the next four weeks. That news represents a blow to a Chargers offense which is already without top running back Austin Ekeler for the time being and lost wideout Mike Williams for the rest of the season.

The former All-Pro blocker’s absence will be signficant given his importance to Los Angeles’ offensive front. Linsley signed a five-year, $62.5MM deal in 2021 as part of the Chargers’ O-line overhaul. The $12.5MM AAV of that pact ranks fourth in the league amongst centers, and comfortably makes the former fifth-rounder the team’s highest-paid offensive lineman. His performances with the Chargers have not always lived up to the terms of that contract, however.

Linsley earned a strong 85.7 PFF grade in 2021, keeping in line with his career-best performance the previous season at the end of his Packers tenure. That mark slipped to 74.2 last season, though, and his evaluations so far have yielded a grade of just 63.5, the lowest of his career. While the 2023 season is still young, that trend is certainly a concerning one for the Chargers’ level of play at the pivot.

With Linsley now set to miss at least one month, Will Clapp (who re-signed on a one-year deal in April) will step into his first-team role. The latter filled in as a starter on three separate occasions last year while the former dealt with various injuries and a case of food poisoning. This latest ailment is obviously more serious, and updates will be worth watching for in the coming days and weeks. Linsley will meet with both team doctors and outside specialists in the near future, the team announced, meaning further clarity on his condition and prognosis may be attained soon.