Chargers Had Interest In Elgton Jenkins; Latest On Guard Plans
The Chargers’ offensive line endured a brutal, injury-plagued year in 2025, but the unit will look much different next season. Left tackle Rashawn Slater will return after a ruptured patellar tendon cost him the entire season. Right tackle Joe Alt, who missed 11 games with an ankle injury, will also be back. The Chargers overhauled the rest of the unit, meaning three new starters will join Slater and Alt in 2026.
A full-time starter in Los Angeles over the past two years, center Bradley Bozeman retired in February. The Chargers found a capable replacement in former Cowboy and Commander Tyler Biadasz, whom they handed a three-year, $30MM contract. Along with Bozeman, the Chargers waved goodbye to guards Zion Johnson and Mekhi Becton.
Johnson started in 65 of 66 games during his four seasons as a Charger, but he did not turn into the dominant force they wanted when they picked the Boston College alum 17th overall in 2022. The Chargers declined Johnson’s fifth-year option last May, setting him up for a trip to the open market this offseason. He accepted the Browns’ three-year, $49.5MM offer when the negotiating window opened March 9.
The Chargers handed Becton a two-year deal worth up to $20MM last March. Although Becton was a 14-game starter in the first year of the pact, the Chargers were not content to run it back with him. They released Becton before free agency opened. He remains unsigned.
With Johnson and Becton walking out the door, the Chargers made a couple of modest free agent investments at the guard position. The team had interest in Elgton Jenkins after the Packers released him, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports, but the two-time Pro Bowler joined Johnson in Cleveland on a two-year, $24MM accord.
The Chargers signed Cole Strange to a two-year agreement worth up to $13MM and re-upped Trevor Penning for $4.5MM the day before Jenkins chose the Browns. At least for now, the plan is for Strange to replace Becton at right guard and Penning to take over for Johnson on the left side, according to Popper.
The Patriots surprised many (including Rams head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead) in taking Strange 29th overall in 2022. The Chattanooga product has started in 43 of 44 games since then, including 14 with the Dolphins last year, but he is already on his third team four years after Bill Belichick chose him. However, during his lone season in Miami, Strange won over head coach Mike McDaniel. The Dolphins fired McDaniel after the season, leading him to take the Chargers’ offensive coordinator job in late January. Adding Strange a month and a half later “was very obviously a McDaniel-driven signing,” Popper writes.
Penning joins Johnson and Strange as a former first-rounder who has fallen short of his draft slot in the NFL. The 19th overall pick of the Saints in 2022, Penning began at left tackle. Foot injuries limited Penning to six games and one start as a rookie. The 6-foot-7, 325-pounder started the Saints’ first five games at left tackle in 2023, but he played poorly enough that they benched him for the rest of the season. While New Orleans deployed Penning as a 17-game starter at right tackle in 2024, he led all O-linemen in penalty yards and gave up the second-most pressures in the league at his position.
The Saints shifted Penning to left guard last season, and while he started in his first six appearances, they traded him to the banged-up Chargers for a 2027 sixth-rounder at the Nov. 4 deadline. Penning started in four of seven games with the Chargers, who used him at right guard and left tackle. Pro Football Focus rated his play a subpar 64th among 79 qualified guards, though Johnson (54th) wasn’t much better. Becton (77th) was worse.
Armed with $48.68MM in cap space, the Chargers still have plenty of money to upgrade at guard. Free agency has thinned out over the past 12 days, but quality veterans like Kevin Zeitler and Joel Bitonio remain without contracts. Either may be a fit if the Chargers are willing to spend. Otherwise, with three picks in the top 86, they could turn to the draft for help.
WR D.J. Chark Announces Retirement
After spending the entire 2025 NFL season as a free agent, veteran wide receiver D.J. Chark Jr. has opted to hang up his cleats for good. Chark took to Instagram today to “share a proper farewell as (he navigates) retirement.” 
A three-star prospect out of Alexandria HS (LA), Chark opted to commit to nearby LSU — a short, two-hour drive away — after receiving interest from Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Tulane. Through his first two years in Baton Rouge, Chark saw barely any playing time but appeared in too many games to redshirt either season. He found a role in the offense as a junior and led the Tigers in receptions (40), receiving yards (874), and receiving touchdowns (3) as a senior.
With lackluster numbers failing to establish a high draft stock, Chark took part in the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl and led all receivers in the game with five catches for 160 yards and a touchdown. His strong Senior Bowl, combined with a stellar performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, raised Chark’s draft stock to the point he was bordering the first round.
Ultimately, Chark was drafted by the Jaguars near the end of the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He joined a young group of receivers catching balls from Blake Bortles in his final year as the quarterback in Jacksonville, but Chark didn’t see much action through 10 games before sitting for five of the final six of the season. In Year 2, Chark established himself as a leader in the Jaguars receiving corps. Catching balls from rookie starter Gardner Minshew, Chark led the team’s receivers in receptions (73), receiving yards (1,008), and receiving touchdowns (8), earning Pro Bowl honors for the first and only time of his career.
Things in Duval evened out a bit in 2020. Minshew (and two backups who combined for eight starts) peppered targets across a trio of Chark (53 receptions-706 receiving yards-5 touchdowns), Keelan Cole (55-642-5), and Laviska Shenault (58-600-5). Chark’s final season in Jacksonville was limited to four games after he suffered a fractured ankle and spent the rest of the year on injured reserve.
In the years that followed, Chark struggled to find the same highs and success that he enjoyed in Jacksonville, most notably in that Pro Bowl sophomore campaign. He landed a one-year, $10MM contract with the Lions in free agency, but after only logging 30 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns as ankle injuries plagued him, his one-year deal with the Panthers the next year was worth only half as much. Chark showed one more solid campaign in Carolina, with 35 receptions, 525 receiving yards, and five touchdowns, before a hip injury would limit Chark’s time with the Chargers in 2024 to seven games, four receptions, 31 yards, and a single touchdown.
After a bid for another one-year stint with a fifth new team in as many years fell short at the roster cut deadline, Chark didn’t find any other opportunities in the NFL this year. As he prepares for the future, Chark pledged his commitment “to being an active pillar in (his) community, empowering the youth through charitable work.”
Chargers To Re-Sign S Tony Jefferson
Tony Jefferson battled injuries for a while, spending the 2020 season out of football. He then spent the 2023 season retired, working as a Ravens scout. But the veteran safety is now preparing to play a third season since coming out of retirement.
The Chargers are re-signing Jefferson, NFL insider Jordan Schultz tweets. It is a one-year, $2MM deal. He rejoins a team that traded Alohi Gilman months ago; Gilman has since signed with the Chiefs.
Jefferson’s reemergence — under then-Bolts DC Jesse Minter, a former Ravens DBs coach (who is now Baltimore’s HC) — made the Chargers comfortable trading Gilman in a package that brought back Odafe Oweh last October. Jefferson made eight starts last season — his most since the 2018 slate — and helped the Bolts back to the playoffs. The Derwin James complementary piece is still in the NFL despite entering the league in 2013. The two sabbatical seasons have presumably helped keep the veteran fresh, but the former UDFA is going into an age-34 season.
While Minter landed the Ravens’ HC job, the Chargers replaced him with their former safeties coach. Chris O’Leary coached the Bolts’ safeties in 2024, and Schultz adds he and Jefferson remain close. Only two months older than Jefferson, O’Leary is back with the Chargers after spending the 2025 season as Western Michigan’s DC.
Suiting up for 13 games last season also marked Jefferson’s most since that 2018 Ravens campaign under Minter. O’Leary was finishing up his college playing career at Indiana State when Jefferson entered the NFL, and the new coordinator will have considerable experience to lean on at safety this coming season. James is back for his ninth Bolts year, with Elijah Molden returning for a sixth NFL season. With James patrolling the slot or roving near the line of scrimmage more often than not, Jefferson logged 351 snaps at free safety last season.
Jefferson shined under Minter, intercepting a career-high four passes. That doubled his career total, with the 2025 thefts his first in seven years. The former Cardinals UDFA played for the veteran minimum in 2025, doing so as he yoyoed between the Bolts’ practice squad and active roster between the 2024 and ’25 campaigns. This $2MM deal does not ensure Jefferson will be back, but his close relationship with O’Leary and 2025 success makes it safe to pencil in the Oklahoma alum for another year in the league.
Chargers To Re-Sign QB Trey Lance
The Chargers are re-signing backup QB Trey Lance, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. It’s a one-year deal worth up to $6.75MM.
Lance signed a similar contract last spring, when the Chargers added him on an agreement worth up to $6.2MM. The former 49er and Cowboy went on to appear in four games with the playoff-bound Bolts last season. His lone start came in a low-stakes Week 18 game against the Broncos. With Justin Herbert getting a breather, Lance completed 20 of 44 passes for 136 yards and an interception in a 19-3 loss. While his passing numbers were unimpressive, Lance rushed for 69 yards on nine attempts.
Lance connected on just 27 of 57 throws for 226 yards and an INT in 2025, continuing a disappointing career for the former third overall pick. The 49ers took a massive gamble on the North Dakota State product in the 2021 draft. A month after trading the No. 12 pick, a third-rounder, and first-rounders in 2022 and ’23 to the Dolphins for No. 3, they grabbed Lance. He ended up among a handful of underwhelming 2021 first-round QBs beyond No. 1 choice Trevor Lawrence. Lance, Zach Wilson (No. 2), Justin Fields (No. 11) and Mac Jones (No. 15) have all fallen short of expectations. Lawrence is the only member of the group who is still with the team that selected him.
Lance started just four games in San Francisco, which somewhat made up for the gaffe in drafting him when it used the last pick in 2022 on Brock Purdy. After Purdy emerged as the 49ers’ answer late in his rookie year, they shipped Lance to the Cowboys for a 2024 fourth-rounder. He started one game in Dallas (in 2024) before leaving for the Chargers. Lance, Herbert and DJ Uiagalelei are the only QBs in the organization as of now.
Over 16 NFL appearances and six starts, Lance has completed 54% of passes, averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, and tossed five TDs and INTs apiece. He owns a 71.9 passer rating.
Chargers, Dalvin Tomlinson Agree To Deal
Dalvin Tomlinson has lined up his next opportunity. The veteran defensive tackle has agreed to terms with the Chargers, per his agency (h/t Tom Pelissero of NFL Network).
Pelissero’s colleague Ian Rapoport reports this is a one-year deal. Tomlinson is in line to collect $7.5MM with $6MM of that figure fully guaranteed. The Bolts will be his fifth career NFL team.
The Bolts have specialized in low-cost veteran D-linemen during Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz‘s time in Los Angeles. The team has brought in the likes of Da’Shawn Hand, Poona Ford, Teair Tart and Naquan Jones on low-cost deals. Ford and Tart played their way into bigger deals — Tart’s coming with the Bolts — after impressing for low-level money. Tomlinson checks in with a higher pay rate by comparison to the original pacts for the aforementioned D-linemen, but he has now been cut twice in two years.
The Browns released Tomlinson in 2025, and the Cardinals cut him days ago. Tomlinson follows Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave as D-tackles being cap casualties twice in two years only to find a new home shortly after. The Chargers are Tomlinson’s fifth team, as he played for the Giants and Vikings before signing a big-ticket Browns contract.
A 142-game starter throughout a nine-year career, Tomlinson has only missed seven career games. The former second-round pick logged 17 starts for the Cardinals last season. Pro Football Focus graded the run stuffer 114th among 127 qualified interior D-linemen last season. PFF viewed Tomlinson’s run defense as having fallen off considerably; the Chargers obviously disagree. Though, Tomlinson has needed to take pay cuts in each of the past two years. After the Browns moved his four-year, $57MM contract off their payroll, the Cardinals gave the 335-pound defender a two-year, $29MM accord.
Tomlinson, 32, was far more disruptive in Cleveland. He tallied a career-high 18 quarterback hits in 2024; he racked up 12 in his 2023 Browns debut season. That helped him secure the Arizona pact. Combining for 10 TFLs with the Browns, Tomlinson totaled three in 2025 with a career-low three QB hits.
Tart re-signed with the Bolts on a three-year, $30MM deal. That represents the top D-line commitment during the Harbaugh-Hortiz years. The team still rosters 2025 third-rounder Jamaree Caldwell — though, the Chargers’ Jamaree count is down to one after Jamaree Salyer joined the Dolphins today — and 2024 fourth-rounder Justin Eboigbe. Tomlinson will mix in with younger players under new Bolts DC Chris O’Leary.
In other Chargers news, Tyler Biadasz‘s three-year, $30MM deal includes $17MM guaranteed (per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson). Of that total, $15MM is guaranteed at signing. Trey Pipkins‘ third Chargers contract (two years, $10MM) carries $4.58MM guaranteed, Wilson adds. If the veteran O-lineman is on L.A.’s roster by Day 3 of the 2027 league year, he will earn a $1MM roster bonus.
Cole Strange‘s two-year, $13MM pact comes with $7MM guaranteed at signing, per OverTheCap. A $2MM injury guarantee is in place for 2027, per Wilson, who adds that figure will become fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2027 league year. That day also carries a $1MM roster bonus for the veteran guard. Fullback Alec Ingold‘s two-year, $7.5MM deal comes with $3.56MM guaranteed, according to OverTheCap. Safety Deane Leonard‘s latest Bolts contract is a one-year, $2MM accord, Wilson tweets. Leonard will see $1.22MM guaranteed.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Chargers To Re-Sign LB Denzel Perryman
Denzel Perryman will be back in Los Angeles next season. The veteran linebacker is re-signing with the Chargers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It will be a one-year deal for the veteran.
Perryman spent the first six seasons of his career with the organization, and he rejoined the Chargers ahead of the 2024 campaign. This will be the third-straight offseason that Perryman’s inked a one-year deal with the franchise. He earned around $3MM on each of his last two deals, and we can assume he’ll be earning a similar sum in 2026.
The linebacker has started all 21 of his appearances with the Chargers over the past two seasons, appearing in about half of his team’s defensive snaps. A groin injury forced him to miss a chunk of games during his first year back with the organization, and a high ankle sprain sidelined him for much of the first two months of the 2025 campaign. He was also inactive for the final two games of last season after being hit with a suspension for his repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players.
That was the player’s second career suspension, as he was also served a two-game ban during his lone season in Houston in 2023. Before that Texans stint, he spent two seasons with the Raiders, including a 2021 campaign where he tallied a career-high 154 tackles. A 2015 second-round pick, Perryman spent the first six seasons of his career with the Chargers, where he compiled 349 stops and five sacks in 69 games.
Perryman will likely play a similar role in Los Angeles next season. The team is set to return their primary linebackers corps, which also includes Daiyan Henley and Troy Dye.
Chargers To Sign RB Keaton Mitchell
Working in the Ravens’ front office when the team identified Keaton Mitchell as a 2023 UDFA, Joe Hortiz will bring the speedy running back to Los Angeles.
The third-year GM will sign off on a two-year, $9.25MM Chargers deal for Mitchell, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Mitchell did not receive an RFA tender from the Ravens, and Jesse Minter’s former team will take advantage. Mitchell will receive $5MM fully guaranteed.
Showing game-breaking ability as a rookie, Mitchell saw his career sidetracked by a late-season ACL tear. The East Carolina alum did not return until November 2024. By that time, the Ravens had Derrick Henry completing a historic season. As Mitchell faded into the background in a Henry-powered backfield, Baltimore did not tender him as an RFA Monday. The low-end tender cost teams $3.52MM this year.
Having not yet determined the Maxx Crosby trade would be nixed and still carrying Lamar Jackson‘s $74MM-plus cap hit at the time, the Ravens passed on Mitchell to make him an unrestricted free agent. As the RFA tender prices keep rising, teams have increasingly passed on handing them out. This regularly results in players coming back to the same team at a reduced rate, but Mitchell ended up faring better than he would have under the tender.
Mitchell flashed brightly as a rookie, averaging an eye-popping 8.4 yards per carry on 47 handoffs. After only 15 carries in 2024, Mitchell handled a career-high 59 totes in 2025. The Chargers will be adding a fourth-year back with little tread on his tires and one who is more than two years removed from his ACL tear.
With the Ravens also having Justice Hill and Rasheen Ali in their backfield last season, Mitchell did finish with the second-most carries (among RBs) on Baltimore’s roster. He rushed for 341 yards in 2025. The Chargers have not re-signed Najee Harris, though they did tender Kimani Vidal as an ERFA last week. Mitchell and Vidal represent interesting options behind starter Omarion Hampton.
New Chargers OC Mike McDaniel unleashed one of the NFL’s fastest players, in De’Von Achane, in Miami. Mitchell did not run track at East Carolina, whereas Achane had a 10.1-second 100-meter clocking on his resume, but he did zoom to a 4.37-second 40-yard dash time at the 2023 Combine. It will be interesting to see how the new Bolts OC uses Mitchell and Vidal in his first L.A. offense.
Chargers To Re-Sign Del’Shawn Phillips
The Chargers are hanging on to their special teams ace. Del’Shawn Phillips is re-signing with the team, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Phillips will be getting a two-year contract, per Pelissero. The deal will pay the special teamer $7.5MM but can climb to $10MM via incentives.
The veteran earned the first All-Pro nod of his career during his debut season with the Chargers. He finished the 2025 campaign with 37 tackles. The majority of his snaps (352 of his 434 snaps) came on special teams.
He notably didn’t make the team’s initial 53-man roster, and he only re-joined the squad when Eric Rogers landed on IR. Phillips clearly made the most of his situation and will be sticking in Los Angeles for the next few years.
The 29-year-old bounced around the NFL a bit to begin his career. Phillips has had stints with the Falcons, Bills, Jets, Ravens, and Texans since entering the league in 2019. He’s only garnered brief looks on defense as a linebacker, topping out with 160 defensive snaps in New York in 2021.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/26
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Re-signed: RB Zonovan Knight
- Signed: LS Casey Kreiter
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: C Corey Levin, LB Channing Tindall
Carolina Panthers
- Re-signed: DE Trevis Gipson, TE James Mitchell
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Jack Stoll
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: LB Tyrus Wheat
Denver Broncos
- Re-signed: FB Adam Prentice
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: OLB Brenton Cox, DT Jonathan Ford
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: LS Josh Harris
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: S Zayne Anderson, TE Ben Sims
New England Patriots
- Signed: S Mike Brown, TE Julian Hill
New York Giants
- Re-signed: LB Zaire Barnes
New York Jets
- Re-signed: OT Max Mitchell
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: OL Jack Driscoll
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: RB Patrick Taylor
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-signed: LS Chris Stoll
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Malik Herring
Bears, Chargers Looked Into Tyler Linderbaum
Several teams were reported to have interest in Tyler Linderbaum as free agency approached, among them the Bears and Chargers, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. Though neither won the bidding war for the former Ravens Pro Bowler, both teams did their homework on the veteran center in the weeks leading up to the start of the legal free agent tampering period. 
Expected to reset the market at the center position, Linderbaum was arguably the hottest player slated to hit the open market with massive projections for his next contract. Because the Raiders’ three-year, $81MM offer blew expectations of a $25MM annual average out of the water, the Ravens, Bears, Chargers, and any other potential suitors were all forced to pivot.
Both Chicago and Los Angeles fell out of the race for Linderbaum far before the price tag rose to $27MM per year. Signs began pointing to the veteran center landing back with Baltimore or with the Raiders as the competing bidders started dropping like flies — made apparent by transactions made for other centers. After moving on from the idea of landing the highest-paid center in the NFL, the Bears traded for Garrett Bradbury, acquiring him from the Patriots. Instead of paying $27MM, Chicago was able to move forward simply by relinquishing a fifth-round pick to land Bradbury for a single season at $3.7MM.
The sign that the Chargers had dropped out of the race for Linderbaum came when the team added Tyler Biadasz after he was cut by the Commanders. Los Angeles even secured Biadasz long term, signing the 2022 Pro Bowler to a three-year, $30MM contract. Also, because he had been released from his contract before the start of free agency, he was able to join the Chargers right away and won’t count against the team’s compensatory pick calculations for next year.
The Ravens, too, will need to find a new center after their 2022 first-round pick left Baltimore in free agency. General manager Eric DeCosta was willing to go up to $88MM over four years, a $22MM AAV that would have reset the center market by $4MM per year, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. But the Raiders came in with $27MM per year and a structure that essentially guarantees all $81MM. The three-year term will also give Linderbaum significant leverage to negotiate another raise during the 2028 offseason, which was another sticking point with the Ravens.
The Raiders clearly thought it was worth every penny to land the top center option available as they close in on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the presumed No. 1 overall pick of the draft. The rookie passer will find himself behind one of the league’s top centers. A smart, experienced interior lineman like Linderbaum should be able to take a significant load off Mendoza’s shoulders when it comes to the offense’s presnap operations and blitz recognitions. In the meantime, the Bears and Chargers have paired their young passers with veterans of their own, and the Ravens remain with a hole to fill.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.