Chargers close to losing top free-agent WR target left on market

The Los Angeles Chargers are running out of time in free agency when it comes to the wide receiver position.

Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz and the front office steered away from big trade ideas like DK Metcalf and passed on top free agents like Cooper Kupp, to name a few.

Unless the Chargers really like a low-cost move like Amari Cooper or Tyler Lockett—or really, really want to run it back with Keenan Allen—then Stefon Diggs is the last man standing.

But the Diggs market is starting to heat up. He just had a visit with the New England Patriots. And while he left without a deal and will explore his options, that’s sometimes code for last-second contract leverage that tells a team like the Patriots to add a little extra spice to the contract in order to get his signature.

There are risks with Diggs, hence his extended wait. He’s now 31 years old coming off a torn ACL. But over eight games in Houston last year, he still caught 47 passes for 496 yards and three scores while averaging 1.99 yards per route run, which ranked 33rd.

Projecting Diggs’ talent into the Chargers offense sure looks good. He’d be running free while defenses worry about Ladd McConkey inside and Mike Williams on the boundary, never mind a possible high-end Round 1 talent at tight end—all wrapped in a Najee Harris, Jim Harbaugh run-first offense.

The Chargers certainly aren’t hurting for cap space. But the interest has to be there for both parties, too. It sure seems to make sense at this stage of free agency for the Chargers, but time is clearly starting to run out on the market as a whole.

Houston Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs — Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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