Los Angeles Chargers cutting Gus Edwards wouldn’t make much sense

The Los Angeles Chargers have some interesting cut candidates this offseason.

It should go without saying at this point, but two major points stick out around that conversation: Joey Bosa is by far the biggest name on the chopping board, and the Chargers have droves of free cap space (roughly $65 million) as it is.

Those details are why it’s hard to buy into ideas such as cutting running back Gus Edwards, which was recently suggested by Bleacher Report’s scouting department:

“He will turn 30 in April and averaged just 3.6 yards per carry with a 49.5 percent success rate. Those numbers are similar to Kimani Vidal. The difference is that Vidal was a sixth-round rookie who will cost the team next to nothing in 2025, and they could save $3.1 million by cutting Edwards.”

That’s looking at it from a strictly financial standpoint. Yes, there is an out built into Edwards’ contract this offseason, but the $4.25 million cap hit isn’t all that concerning – especially if they end up losing J.K. Dobbins in free agency.

When he played in a dynamic offense with Lamar Jackson in 2023, Edwards scored 13 times but only averaged 4.1 yards per carry over 17 games. This past year as a rotational player behind Dobbins, he made it in just 11 games while battling injuries and played behind an obviously subpar interior offensive line – the fact the passing game had no serious threats besides rookie Ladd McConkey didn’t help, either.

That’s a long way of saying that last year wasn’t necessarily a sign of what Edwards can do in the Chargers offense. That doesn’t mean the team won’t address the position potentially as high as the first round, but it doesn’t mean they should cut ties with the veteran running back, either.

Los Angeles Chargers running back Gus Edwards — Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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