Los Angeles Chargers Sign New $30M Starter Before NFL Free Agency Opens

The Los Angeles Chargers are getting aggressive this offseason, to say the least.

After waxing poetic about the failure to help Justin Herbert, Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz and head coach Jim Harbaugh have made their first big splash signing in free agency.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chargers signed former Washington Commanders center Tyler Biadasz to a three-year deal worth $30 million.

NFL free agency technically doesn’t start until next week, so the move speaks to just how aggressive the Chargers will be in the coming days and weeks.

Chargers signing Tyler Biadasz impact on cap space, free agency

Washington Commanders center Tyler Biadasz (63) prior to the game. — Tyler Biadasz | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Chargers approached free agency with roughly $99 million in cap space.

We’ll see what the initial cap hit on Biadasz’s contract looks like, but it shouldn't prohibit them from doing pretty much anything else on the open market.

Good news, too, because they need to replace last year’s starting guards, Mekhi Becton and Zion Johnson. Becton was a free-agent signing last year whose bust status led to him getting cut this week.

Johnson, meanwhile, is a former first-round pick and slated for free agency next week. The Chargers might play ball on getting him back, but Hortiz and others have hinted that his market could get out of their price range in a hurry.

Biadasz, of course, was a veteran released by the Commanders recently, so he was free to sign with any team right away. As a bonus for Hortiz and Co., as such, he won’t even count in the compensatory pick formula.

2025 PFF grades for new Chargers C Tyler Biadasz

Zone run blocking: 66.2

Gap run blocking: 67.2

True Pass set blocking grade: 68.5

3 sacks, 21 pressures allowed last season with Washington. 98.0 pass blocking efficiency for his career. pic.twitter.com/umpwAIl1lw
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) March 6, 2026

For the Chargers, the other two interior offensive line spots will likely be a mixture of free agency and the draft, as early as Round 1.

On paper, the Biadasz signing would appear to take the Chargers out of the running for Tyler Linderbaum, though never say never on the team getting creative with how they shuffle around interior guys might apply.

The Chargers, after all, are very clearly all-in on the idea of going big to support Herbert. That starts early here as the team upgrades the offensive line for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

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