Chargers Meeting With Top QBs In Draft
The Chargers have not needed to worry about a starting quarterback for most of this century, and Philip Rivers has not given indications he’s eyeing near-future retirement. But the team is going to continue to look at passing prospects.
Having already been linked to a Josh Rosen meeting, the Chargers have already met with — or are planning to visit with — the top five quarterbacks in this draft. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), the Bolts are planning visits for Rosen and Sam Darnold, which won’t count toward their 30 prospect summits because they are Los Angeles-based.
Los Angeles, per Rapoport (on Twitter), also recently worked out or met with the other three — Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. But quarterback meetings took place between Bolts brass and recent drafts’ higher-end passing prospects in the past, only for the Rivers-Kellen Clemens setup to remain in place for years. Now, the Chargers are going with Geno Smith behind Rivers. With only Cardale Jones also in the picture, the team does not have an obvious succession plan.
But the Chargers aren’t exactly in position to select one of the top four passers, and Jackson and Rivers possess wildly disparate skill sets. And with the 36-year-old Rivers possibly set to play out his through-2019 contract and pursue another extension, it’s possible these visits will continue the recent pattern. The Chargers hold the No. 17 pick in the first round.
Josh Rosen To Meet With Seven Teams
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is set to meet with the Browns, Jets, Giants, Cards, Broncos, Bills, and Chargers in the coming weeks, according to Peter King of The MMQB. Cleveland gets the first crack at Rosen with a visit lined up for this week. 
[RELATED: Josh Rosen Will Play For Whoever Drafts Him]
King suspects that the Browns will ask Rosen about recent comments made by his former head coach, Jim Mora, in which he advocated for USC Sam Darnold go to No. 1 overall.
“Because of fit, I would take Sam Darnold if I were the Cleveland Browns. I think that blue collar, gritty attitude, I think his teammates will love him, I think the city will love him. He’ll say the right things. He will come in and he will represent well. I think he kind of represents what Cleveland is. And if I was one of the New York teams, I would take Josh *snap* just like that. I think they will both be great in the pros.”
In his conversation with King, Mora expounded on those thoughts a bit, but didn’t exactly backtrack.
“He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn’t get bored,” Mora said, while reemphasizing the angle of Rosen needing the proper “fit.” “He’s a millennial. He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they’re good. Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he’s a really good kid.”
Mora’s comments may be a topic of discussion for interested teams, but it would be shocking to see Rosen fall any further than the Jets at No. 3.
Geno Smith To Sign With Chargers
It looks like Philip Rivers will have a new backup quarterback. Geno Smith and the Chargers reached an agreement on a deal that will bring Smith to Los Angeles, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal, per Schefter and ESPN.com’s Eric Williams.
Smith will reunite with Anthony Lynn, who was a Jets offensive assistant during his first two seasons with the team.
The sixth-year quarterback met with both the Bolts and Seahawks this offseason, with the Chargers receiving the first meeting. He will trek to L.A., leaving Seattle without a proven backup to Russell Wilson. Smith and Cardale Jones are now in line to fill out the Chargers’ Rivers-centric QB meetings.
Having spent a year backing up the player once traded for Rivers, Smith made one start for the Giants and ended up snapping Eli Manning‘s historic streak. That caused quite a bit of uproar and accelerated the changing of the guard in New York. Smith saw action in just two Giants games last season and only three Jets contests from 2015-16, with the infamous locker room skirmish with IK Enemkpali playing a role in sidetracking the former second-round pick’s career.
Entering his age-28 season, Smith holds a career 57.9 completion percentage and has thrown 29 touchdown passes compared to 36 interceptions. He started a loss to the Raiders in Oakland last season, completing 21 of 34 tosses with a touchdown on a depleted Big Blue team.
Rivers has not missed a start since taking over the Bolts’ passing reins in 2006. Jones did not throw a pass last season with the Bolts. Longtime Rivers backup Kellen Clemens, who threw eight passes in 2017, is a free agent. Rivers’ backup for the past four seasons, Clemens seems poised to head elsewhere now. The Seahawks could be a fit, with the 34-year-old quarterback having worked under new Seattle OC Brian Schottenheimer with the Rams earlier this decade.
Chargers To Sign DB Jaylen Watkins
Former Eagles defensive back Jaylen Watkins is signing with the Chargers, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. It’s a one-year deal for the versatile defender. 
Watkins has the ability to play both cornerback and safety, but he’s likely to play safety for the Bolts, JLC hears. He’ll be a bench piece for the Chargers, but it’s not clear who he’ll be backing up at free safety. Last year’s starter Tre Boston is floating in free agent limbo and it doesn’t sound like the Chargers have much interest in retaining him.
Watkins has been a regular contributor for Philadelphia over the last two years with 28 regular season games and 51 total tackles in that span. In 2017, he saw most of his playing time on special teams while playing on only 170 defensive snaps. He was not a star for the Eagles, but teammates recognized his value as a jack of all trades.
Four Teams Interested In Tre Boston
The safety market has moved at a snail’s pace this year and Tre Boston has taken notice. The Chargers free agent says that he is frustrated by the way things unfolded, though tells Alex Marvez of The Sporting News that he has drawn interest from the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, and Giants this offseason. Meanwhile, things have stalled with the Bolts because they are looking to pay him more as a “strong safety type of player.” 
“It’s kind of unbelievable to me,” he said. “We’re talking about a position that’s needed more and more on the field in today’s game. “There are about five or six valuable starting safeties in free agency right now. But I guess it’s just trying to get us to take peanuts like the rest of them have. That’s just the business of the game.”
Signing a player like Boston could impact a team’s compensatory pick formula and clubs with safety needs could be waiting until the draft to score top prospects like Alabama’s Minkah Fitzpatrick, Florida State’s Derwin James, or Stanford’s Justin Reid. The Seahawks are also open to trading Earl Thomas (for a hefty asking price) and that’s probably holding things up for this year’s available veteran safeties. Boston isn’t the only one in a holding pattern – Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are also without NFL homes as we look ahead to April.
“It’s a marginal group,” one executive said of this year’s free agent safety class, noting the lack of top-end speed in the bunch. “You really don’t have one cover safety in the group. You have some decent box types like Vaccaro and Reid, but it’s primarily backup types left.”
Last year, Boston had to settle for a one-year deal. For now, he’s still holding out hope of landing a multi-year pact, but he acknowledges that he may have to do another one-year contract before trying his luck in the open market next year.
Chargers To Meet With QB Geno Smith
Former Giants and Jets quarterback Geno Smith will visit the Chargers on Wednesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Rapoport adds that Bolts head coach Anthony Lynn has been a fan of Smith in the past. 
Another former Jet – Kellen Clemens – served as Philip Rivers‘ primary backup last season. As it stands, Cardale Jones is the only other quarterback on the Chargers’ depth chart. While Jones has potential, the Chargers are looking for an experienced QB to play behind Rivers.
Smith, a second-round pick in the 2013 draft, has had a rocky NFL tenure to say the least. After two unsuccessful seasons under center for New York, he missed the overwhelming majority of the 2015 season after teammate IK Enemkpali broke his jaw in a locker room brawl.
Smith spent the following season holding the clipboard for Ryan Fitzpatrick before hooking on with the Giants last year. In an extremely controversial move, the Giants started Smith in a December contest against the Raiders. After his two-fumble game, the Giants reinstated Eli Manning as the starter and fired their coach and GM.
Despite all of his warts, Lynn believes that Smith could be a capable No. 2 QB for the Chargers.
Chargers Won't Release DT Corey Liuget
- After being suspended four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget is not in danger of being released, according to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com, who adds Los Angeles will not seek to restructure Liuget’s contract. Liuget, 28, is slated to earn $8MM for the upcoming season, so he’ll lose out on $2MM in base salary. The former first-round pick appeared in 12 games in 2017, posting 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks while grading as the NFL’s No. 32 interior run defender, per Pro Football Focus. Liuget was especially proficient as a pass rusher, as his 81.8 grade ranked 15th among defensive tackles
Chargers DL Corey Liuget Suspended
Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Liuget, 28, is slated to earn $8MM for the upcoming season, so he’ll lose out on $2MM in base salary. The former first-round pick appeared in 12 games in 2017, posting 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks while grading as the NFL’s No. 32 interior run defender, per Pro Football Focus. Liuget was especially proficient as a pass rusher, as his 81.8 grade ranked 15th among defensive tackles.
With Liuget out of the picture for the first quarter of the year, Los Angeles could turn to internal options such as Darius Philon, Damion Square, or Kaleb Eulls to fill in through September. Alternatively, the Chargers could add defensive tackle in the draft, or add a free agent such as Johnathan Hankins, Bennie Logan, Shamar Stephen, or Quinton Dial.
13 Teams Watched Johnny Manziel At USD Pro Day
Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel threw passes at Thursday’s University of San Diego pro day, and 14 NFL clubs were on hand to watch him perform, reports Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Bears, Browns, Chargers, Giants, Chiefs, Jets, Patriots, Raiders, Titans, Lions, Jaguars, Panthers and Buccaneers, were all present at today’s workout, per Williams. Of course, those clubs weren’t necessarily in town just to see Manziel, as USD had its own prospects on the field.
Manziel was thought to be interested in working out a deal to play in the Canadian Football League during the 2018 campaign, and was in fact offered a contract by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in January. However, Manziel and his team reportedly weren’t pleased with the terms of the pact, and he’s now scheduled to play in the upcoming Spring League. The former first-round pick is reportedly amenable to a minimum salary or a practice squad slot.
Manziel is still only 25 years old, but he hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2015 campaign. In eight career starts for the Browns, the former Heisman trophy winner completed 57% of his passes for 1,675 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
Mike Pouncey Signs 2-Year Deal With Chargers
The Chargers announced Tuesday that they’ve agreed to a two-year deal with Mike Pouncey after the three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman visited the team’s facility earlier in the day. The visit with the Chargers was the first for Pouncey with another team since he requested and was granted his release from the Dolphins last week.
The Chargers are set to give Pouncey $15MM over the two-year deal, with $10MM guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
Pouncey certainly serves as an upgrade to the Chargers’ interior offensive line, with Spencer Pulley and second-year guard Dan Feeney previously set to return at center and right guard, respectively. They also lost versatile offensive lineman Kenny Wiggins to the Lions in free agency this offseason.
Matt Slauson, who started seven games at left guard for the Chargers last year before a biceps injury cut his season short, is an unrestricted free agent and has already visited with the Lions, with a visit scheduled Tuesday with the Colts, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Colts had also reportedly shown interest in Pouncey.
The Dolphins and Pouncey parted ways last week after drafting him with the 15th overall pick of the 2011 draft out of Florida. He battled a hip injury last season but still managed to start all 16 games for the third time in his career. He was graded as the No. 25 center in the NFL out of qualifiers last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Hip injuries have hampered Pouncey throughout his career and held him to just five games in 2016 before being placed on injured reserve.
The Dolphins signed Pouncey to a five-year $52.15MM extension back in 2015 but he was one of the team’s numerous cuts as part of an effort to reduce their cap number. Some of those other releases included defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, linebacker Lawrence Timmons and tight end Julius Thomas. The Dolphins cleared $9MM in cap space, with $2MM in dead cap, by releasing Pouncey.
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