The Chargers Still Have One Big Move Left in NFL Free Agency

The Los Angeles Chargers can’t afford to simply be done with NFL free agency already.

Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz oversees a roster with far too many needs for the market to no longer be an option for the team at this stage of free agency.

By far the biggest pain point for the Chargers right now is the interior of the offensive line. But Hortiz still has roughly $48.6 million in free cap space right now before any other cap-creating measures.

Given the needs and resources available, there is plenty of reason to believe the Chargers have at least one “big” move left. Maybe it’s not “big” in a financial sense, but better protecting Justin Herbert certainly qualifies.

Chargers upcoming free agency move

Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz — Joe Hortiz | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It’s all about the guards on the free agent market right now.

There are a handful of notable names still available at the time of this writing:

Kevin Zeitler
Joel Bitonio
Daniel Faalele
James Daniels

There are other names, of course, but this is a good starting point.

There are levels to this, too. Someone like James Daniels is more of a depth signing with some room to grow, provided he’s past the injury issues of the last few years.

Guys like Kevin Zeitler and Joel Bitonio, though, are possible immediate starters.

At this point, it’s hard for the Chargers to go wrong with either route.

Tyler Biadasz is a strong upgrade at center over Bradley Bozeman. But free-agent signee Cole Strange hasn’t always been starter material at his other stops, even if he’s a nice fit with new coordinator Mike McDaniel.

Otherwise, the Chargers have a bunch of guys as depth, headed up by Trevor Penning. They traded for him last year and re-signed him recently, but he wasn’t a major factor with last year’s miserable unit.

Adding at least one more name, then grabbing a top-tier prospect on draft day, might be the best course forward for the Chargers.

That’s not as attractive as, say, spending huge money on a top-of-market free agent. But if done right, there’s still a “big” move left if the sums of its parts is a healthy Herbert for an entire season who leads a deep playoff run in a McDaniel attack.

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