- Former Jaguars linebackers coach Robert Saleh could land with the 49ers or Chargers, a source tells Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. Saleh worked under Gus Bradley dating back to the pair’s years with the Texans, who also employed Kyle Shanahan during Saleh’s stay in Houston.
- Chargers wide receiver Travis Benjamin had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last week, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Benjamin was dealing with a grade-2 PCL sprain for several weeks last season. There’s no mention of Benjamin potentially missing an extended period of time, so he should be good to go this summer.
- The Chargers officially terminated their lease with City of San Diego today, paying a $12.575MM termination fee in the process, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. It remains to be seen whether SD might redirect those funds towards an effort to lure the Raiders to town. As the Raiders’ planned move to Las Vegas hit some roadblocks this week, mayor Kevin Faulconer reached out to see if the Raiders might be willing to move ~500 miles south.
The Redskins have interviewed Chargers assistant defensive backs coach Chris Harris and longtime NFL coach Tim Lewis for their vacant secondary coach position, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link) reported last month that new Los Angeles head coach Anthony Lynn would retain Harris and several other defensive coaches, but the Chargers may simply be allowing Harris — whom Jones says is considered a “rising star” — to pursue a promotion. Lewis, meanwhile, has experience as a coordinator, and has spent time with the Steelers, Giants, Panthers, Seahawks, Falcons, and, most recently, the 49ers.
- Former Vikings wide receivers coach George Stewart will move to Los Angeles and become the Chargers‘ special teams coach, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News reports (on Twitter). Stewart resided as the Vikings’ longest-tenured assistant coach prior to making this decision, having coached Minnesota’s receivers since 2007.
In advance of March 9, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the Los Angeles Chargers, who posted a 5-11 record in 2016 and have since hired a new head coach and relocated north up the I-5.
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Jahleel Addae, S
- Isaiah Burse, WR (ERFA)
- Jeremy Butler, WR (RFA)
- Kellen Clemens, QB
- Asante Cleveland, TE (ERFA)
- Jeff Cumberland, TE
- Geremy Davis, WR (ERFA)
- Javontee Herndon, WR (ERFA)
- Ronnie Hillman, RB
- Melvin Ingram, LB
- Dontrelle Inman, WR (RFA)
- Sean Lissemore, DT
- Robert McClain, CB
- Dexter McCluster, RB
- Sean McGrath, TE (ERFA)
- Branden Oliver, RB (RFA)
- Tenny Palepoi, DE (RFA)
- Adrian Phillips, S (ERFA)
- Damion Square, DL
- Manti Te’o, LB
- Korey Toomer, WR (RFA)
- Kenny Wiggins, G (RFA)
- Andre Williams, RB (ERFA)
- Tourek Williams, LB
- Mike Windt, LS
- Danny Woodhead, RB
Top 10 Cap Hits for 2017:
- Philip Rivers, QB: $20,000,000
- Brandon Flowers, CB: $11,000,000
- Corey Liuget, DL: $9,500,000
- D.J. Fluker, G: $8,821,000
- Keenan Allen, WR: $8,650,000
- King Dunlap, T: $8,125,000
- Orlando Franklin, G: $7,600,000
- Travis Benjamin, WR: $6,500,000
- Joey Bosa, DE: $5,880,380
- Joe Barksdale, T: $5,546,875
Other:
- Projected cap space (via Over the Cap): $20,231,314
- Seventh pick in draft
- Must exercise or decline 2018 fifth-year option for CB Jason Verrett
Three Needs:
1) Fix the offensive line: Los Angeles’ front five has been a problem for some time, but given the contract structures of the club’s offensive linemen, the Chargers were essentially locked into most of their starting group, including tackles King Dunlap and Joe Barksdale and guards Orlando Franklin and D.J. Fluker. Now that another season has passed, the effects of cutting ties with several of those players (specifically, the dead money charges that would accelerate onto Los Angeles’ salary cap) have become minimized, meaning the Chargers could rework the line this offseason.
Barksdale, 29, probably isn’t going anywhere, as he just signed an extension with the Bolts in the spring of 2016. As such, it would cost the Chargers more to release Barksdale than it would to retain him. Franklin, too, will likely be kept for at least one more campaign, as Los Angeles would incur nearly $5MM in dead money by cutting ties. Though he struggled last season, Franklin was a significant free agent signing just two years ago, and the Chargers will likely give him one more year to turn things around.
Changes could take place at other spots along the line, however, including left tackle, where Dunlap is currently atop the depth chart. Dunlap, who agreed to a $1.2MM paycut last offseason, has missed 13 games over the past two years, and hasn’t been especially effective when on the field. Los Angeles would clear out $6.5MM in cap space by designating Dunlap a post-June 1 cut, and that looks like the best course of action at present.
Of course, releasing Dunlap would leave a hole on Philip Rivers‘ blindside, but the Chargers could use some of their newfound cap room to pursue a free agent left tackle. The market for offensive tackles isn’t exactly abundant, and the only two starting options that are readily available are the Bengals’ Andrew Whitworth and the Lions’ Riley Reiff. Other players could soon become free agents, as Russell Okung and Kelvin Beachum are tied to options that are likely to be declined, while Ryan Clady could simply be released even after reworking his contract with the Jets.
More likely, the Bolts would need to target their next left tackle through the draft, and while this year’s class of tackles isn’t strong, Los Angeles should have a few choices when the seventh pick comes up. In his initial mock draft, Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com sent Alabama OT Cam Robinson to the Chargers, and while Robinson has generally been viewed as this year’s No. 1 blindside protector, there’s been a recent wave of support for Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk, whom Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com ranks as his 14th overall player. In a typical draft, neither Robinson nor Ramczyk might be worth a top-10 selection, but it would behoove Los Angeles to draft for need this year.
Guard could also be addressed in the coming months, and although Franklin will be probably be retained, the same can’t be said about D.J. Fluker, who has spent the past two seasons on the interior after playing right tackle during his first two NFL campaigns. Because he is a former first-round pick, Fluker is scheduled to earn $8.821MM under the terms of his fifth-year option, a total that would give him the league’s fifth-highest cap hit among guards. That figure isn’t fully guaranteed until the start of the new league year in March, meaning the Chargers can release Fluker without any fiscal consequences.
Los Angeles should do just that, both due to Fluker’s uninspiring play and the fact that the Chargers have a ready-made solution on the interior. Veteran Matt Slauson is entering the second season of a two-year, $3MM deal (quietly one of the better bargains in the NFL), and although he spent the 2016 campaign at center, he could shift back to his native guard position for 2017. Such a transition would allow 2016 third-round pick Max Tuerk — who used his rookie season as something of a redshirt year (zero snaps) — to take over at center.
Depth has become an issue for the Chargers’ offensive line in recent years, so the club should take a hard look at the veteran market — as well as invest a pick or two — on assets that could step up in the event of injuries up front. If the Panthers’ Mike Remmers can’t find a starting job in free agency, he’d make for a fine swing tackle in southern California. Same goes for Stefen Wisniewski, Tim Lelito, and Brian Schwenke along the interior, all of whom could be paid a slight premium in exchange for accepting backup roles with Los Angeles.
- Prior to the Chargers entering the race, Anthony Lynn saw the Bills as the best opportunity for him. The newest Los Angeles HC was connected to every team in need of a coach, save for the 49ers. “To me, [Buffalo] was the best place for me to be because I knew the personnel, I knew all the people I was working with and I think that was the quickest turnaround,” Lynn said, via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Although, after the Chargers became interested, Lynn said he quickly pivoted to their situation. “They have a quarterback; they have key players at every position, at skill positions, and a young, talented defense, I thought that right there was a great opportunity,” he said. “And that’s where I put all my focus, was in that job after the season was over, and thank God it came through.”
The Chargers’ decision to leave their longtime home, San Diego, in favor of Los Angeles has drawn the ire of the NFL’s owners, many of whom are reportedly “very upset.” Commissioner Roger Goodell isn’t thrilled, either, as he told FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd on Thursday that the league is “disappointed” in Chargers owner Dean Spanos’ choice to relocate. Goodell added that the league “did some unprecedented things to try to keep the Chargers in San Diego,” though he didn’t elaborate further (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
One option would have been for Rams owner Stan Kroenke to help pay for a stadium in San Diego, which would have enabled him to keep the Los Angeles market to himself, a league source told Florio. The Chargers still wouldn’t have gotten enough public money for a new facility to come to fruition, however, Florio notes.
On the other hand, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report disputes the idea of Kroenke’s involvement, tweeting that he never offered to help the Chargers remain in San Diego. Had he done so, Kroenke would have had to pay more for his Inglewood stadium, and he could have opened up the LA market to the Raiders – something he didn’t want to do (Twitter links).
Regardless of what went on behind the scenes, the LA situation is settled. The Raiders’ future isn’t, though the franchise did file its relocation papers last week to move from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Mark Davis-led organization remains hopeful about casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s involvement in a potential stadium, per Cole, who adds that Adelson believes contributing $650MM toward the planned $1.9 billion facility “would aid his legacy.” If Adelson doesn’t end up in the mix, Goldman Sachs would likely pick up the slack, according to Cole. However, whether it’s Adelson or Goldman Sachs helping him, Davis will need 23 of the league’s other 31 owners to sign off on his relocation plan in March. That’s “hardly a formality,” Cole relays (all Twitter links).
On the possibility of placing a team in America’s gambling capital, Goodell told Cowherd (via PFT’s Michael David Smith): “We’ve seen the changes in the culture around the country in gambling. We’re obviously very sensitive to that, but we’re also going to evaluate the Raiders case on the relocation application in what’s in the overall best interests of the league. But one thing we can’t ever do is compromise on the game. That’s one of the things we’ll do is to make sure the policies we’ve created, if we did in any way approve the Raiders, I don’t see us compromising on any of the policies.”
- For those wondering whether the Chargers would ever return to San Diego, owner Dean Spanos all but squashed those theories today. “That’s not even a consideration,” Spanos told Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News. “There’s no looking back. We’re moving forward.”
[SOURCE LINK]
Former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley has agreed to become the Chargers’ defensive coordinator, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: 2017 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Tracker]
Bradley had been one of the most-coveted coordinators in the league during this year’s hiring cycle, as both the Redskins and the 49ers — in addition to the Chargers — had expressed interest in adding him to their staff. Considered something of a “domino,” as Schefter tweets, Bradley’s hiring in Los Angeles means that Washington and San Francisco will likely move rapidly in their searches for their next DCs.
While other teams are moving onto additional candidates, the Chargers and new head coach Anthony Lynn will land in Bradley the candidate they’ve targeted from the beginning of their search, but the club did have a backup plan. Incumbent defensive backs coach Ron Milus was the Chargers’ second choice, per Schefter (Twitter link) , and would have been hired as DC if Bradley had rebuffed Los Angeles. Instead, Bradley will inherit a Chargers defense that ranked eighth in DVOA under former coordinator John Pagano, and boasts talent — including Joey Bosa, Denzel Perryman, Casey Hayward, and Jason Verrett — at every level.
Bradley, of course, was fired before he could finish out his fourth season as Jacksonville’s head coach. While his time with the Jaguars certainly can’t be considered successful (it’s hard to argue with a 14-48 record), Bradley had seemingly begun to assemble an interesting defense that looked primed for a breakout. And the 50-year-old’s coordinating chops speak for themselves, as Bradley helped develop the Legion of Boom during his days leading the Seattle defense from 2009-12.
While Bradley’s hire will lead to a shakeup of the Chargers’ defense, the Bolts’ offensive staff will largely remain intact after Lynn agreed to retain incumbent OC Ken Whisenhunt.
- The Chargers will hire Alfredo Roberts as their running backs coach, per Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll replace Ollie Wilson, who had been with the Chargers for 14 years. Roberts and new Bolts head coach Anthony Lynn will now work together for a third time – the two were previously on the same staffs in Cleveland and Jacksonville.
The NFL is “besides itself” over the Chargers’ choice to exit San Diego in favor of Los Angeles last week, a league source told Adam Schefter of ESPN. “There are a ton of owners very upset that [the Chargers] moved,” said another source, who interestingly added the league hopes Chargers owner Dean Spanos realizes he “bungled” the situation and moves the team back to San Diego. Unsurprisingly, the chances of that happening are rather slim, Schefter notes.