Chargers need help but should steer clear of latest Raiders cut

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The Los Angeles Chargers had plenty of opportunities in free agency to address the cornerback position and only came away with Donte Jackson and Benjamin St-Juste.
Ahead of the NFL draft, the position remains a notable need—but Jack Jones, just cut by the Las Vegas Raiders, probably shouldn’t be on the radar of Jim Harbaugh and Co. at all.
Jones was a fourth-round pick in 2022, so the knee-jerk reaction will be to list him as a possible fit for the Chargers as a nice value before the draft. But the fact that a team as desperate as the Raiders was willing to let a 27-year-old player at a premium position walk says quite a bit.
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In fact, the Raiders were already Jones’ second NFL team after the New England Patriots cut him in November of 2023 after problems with team rules. There were off-field mishaps, too.
With the Raiders, as Chargers fans 100 percent remember, it was Jones who pick-sixed Easton Stick during the infamous 63-21 loss in 2023. But fast forward to now, the Raiders had been looking for a trade partner and kept coming up with nothing, hence the release.
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A year ago, the Chargers found quality contributors in the fifth round with Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart, easing the loss of Asante Samuel Jr., who also remains a free agent. The two new faces, plus a rookie or two, might be a far better play than chasing a name in free agency right now.

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Chris Roling has covered the NFL since 2010 with stints at Bleacher Report, USA TODAY Sports Media Group and others. Raised a Bengals fan in the '90s, the Andy Dalton era was smooth sailing by comparison. He graduated from the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and remains in Athens.
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