Chargers Warned About Losing Former First-Rounder in His 'Prime' to Rival Raiders

The Los Angeles Chargers are in for a massive offseason of change. It already begun by bringing in two new coordinators: Mike McDaniel on offense and Chris O'Leary for defense. Head coach Jim Harbaugh knows that while their regular season success has been there, the Chargers desperately need a playoff win to quiet the noise.

The top priority this offseason will be on the offensive side of the ball yet again. Not only do the Chargers need another weapon, but the offensive line is still a mess. Luckily, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt will return, after they both suffered season-ending injuries in 2025.

The problems lie mostly along the interior, as injuries and poor play led to a rotation of different players across the 2025 season. Center Bradley Bozeman was arguably the worst out of the three interior positions, along with free agent bust Mekhi Becton. There was somewhat of a bright spot with Zion Johnson, as he wasn't completely horrible.

Johnson allowed 3 sacks and 26 pressures across 663 pass blocking snaps. Now set to be a free agent, he could head to one of the Chargers' rivals.

Zion Johnson listed as best fit for Raiders, not Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers guard Zion Johnson during training camp press conference. — Zion Johnson | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Matt Bowen of ESPN ranked Johnson as the No.33 best free agent heading into the offseason. When naming the team that would be his best fit, Bowen went with the Las Vegas Raiders.

"The Raiders can upgrade their offensive line with Johnson," Bowen wrote. "He'd play the left guard spot in Klint Kubiak's system, using his mobility in the zone run game. Plus, Johnson's youth and durability fit the rebuild in Las Vegas. He is just entering his prime playing years, with a 90.7% pass block win rate over his four-year career with the Chargers."

Johnson is just 26 years old, so Bowen is correct about him hitting his 'prime' years. There's certainly room to improve, as he was decent when on the field. Spotrac currently has Johnson's value set at $11.3 million per year, with a projected deal of 3 years, $33,783,456.

The Chargers can afford this, but it's a matter of if they want to. While Johnson wasn't the best guard in the NFL last season, he'll have other suitors. Teams would be happy to take a chance on an average level starting guard. If the Chargers have competition for Johnson, it may be hard to retain him.

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