Chargers reveal star free agent left despite competitive offer to stay

It was a rather major shock when the Los Angeles Chargers lost Poona Ford to the Los Angeles Rams in free agency this offseason.

But Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz told reporters before the NFL draft that he felt the team made a “competitive offer,” but that Ford ultimately chose to go across town to the Rams.

It’s a super-interesting reveal into one of the more confusing aspects of the Chargers’ offseason to date.

The Chargers, after all, rolled the proverbial dice on Ford and he responded with a breakout season under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Why the team would turn around and not use some of that roughly $90 million in cap space to retain their breakout player in free agency, then, perplexed fans.

As it apparently turns out, the Chargers were in the mix. Whether they actually came close to offering Ford the same money he got from the Rams (three-year, $27.6 million contract) is something outsiders will probably never know. But Hortiz and the Chargers feel like they were fair, based on how they viewed him and his market.

The Chargers made a few smaller signings in free agency along the defensive line when the market opened. But this might shed a little more light on their desire to fill the gap left by Ford’s departure rather early in the upcoming NFL draft.

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