Chargers Roster Spotlights: Cole Strange, Bolt Fans Owe Him An Apology

Cole Strange, born on July 31, 1998, in Knoxville, Tennessee, played his high school ball at Farragut High School, earning the Knoxville Interscholastic League Defensive Player of the Year as a senior defensive end after recording 103.5 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

This impressive senior season allowed for Strange to garner two-star recruiting status according to 247Sports. He initially committed to Chattanooga, changing his mind to the Air Force, but swiftly transferred back to Chattanooga, redshirting his freshman season with hopes of making a transition to offense, specifically guard.

Once eligible to play, he made six starts at guard during his redshirt freshman season. The following year, he started 11 games and earned second-team All-Southern Conference. His redshirt junior season was an exact copy and paste year, starting the same number of games and once again earning second-team All-Southern Conference.

During the COVID-19 year, Strange's season was cut short, playing only five games, achieving the Jacobs Blocking Award as the best blocker in the Southern Conference. Due to this short year, Strange was granted another year of eligibility, winning another Jacobs Blocking Award as well as his first First-team All-Southern Conference nomination.

After a long college career, Strange was viewed by many as a Day 2 developmental offensive line prospect, with the NFL's Lance Zierlein describing the Chattanooga guard as: "[a] highly experienced interior lineman who does a nice job of staying on schedule...He will lose a tug-of-war battle as a pure man-to-man blocker, but wins with lateral quickness and an understanding of angles as a move blocker... His frame and play strength are a little below average..."

The New England Patriots under Bill Belichick never once cared about what the majority thought about a player in the draft. This showed in their belief in Strange, drafting him with the 29th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.

He started all 17 games with the Patriots at LG in his first year, giving up five sacks and 23 pressures. These stats are very similar to what the Bolts saw from Zion Johnson (5 sacks, 29 pressures [150~ more snaps played]) in 2025.

Back to Strange, he was seeing some development in his second-year, with his PFF grades rising a few grading points, but unfortunately, he suffered a torn patellar tendon (the exact same injury Rashawn Slater suffered last season) after his tenth game played, ending his season. This injury bled into 2024, coming back and playing in two games, with all his snaps coming at the Center position.

This was the end of Strange's Patriots career, being let go after the 2024 season. He signed with the Cleveland Browns' practice squad, not even making the Browns roster. A few short weeks passed and Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins were in desperate need of a guard. They signed Cole Strange and saw him start 14 games for them with mixed results.

Chargers Cole Strange, OL Chattanooga

After Strange's 2025 year, McDaniel found himself in Los Angeles as their offensive coordinator, in need of a guard once more. He called up Strange once more, leading to a two-year deal being signed in Los Angeles. He is now expected to be the starting right guard protecting Justin Herbert for the 2026 season.

2025 Season Stats

14 Games Played
2 Sacks Allowed
21 Pressures Allowed
54.9 PFF Offensive Grade
57.0 PFF Run Blocking Grade
42.2 PFF Pass Blocking Grade

Measurables

Contract Status

"Cole Strange signed a 2 year, $13,000,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including $5,750,000 signing bonus, $9,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $6,500,000. In 2026, Strange will earn a base salary of $3,500,000 and a signing bonus of $3,500,000, while carrying a cap hit of $5,250,000 and a dead cap value of $4,750,000." - Spotrac

Cole Strange's 2026 Season Outlook

Strange coming to Los Angeles as a starter was a move that some fans disproved of, as they were hoping for larger names like Elgton Jenkins or Wyatt Teller. But it is important to note that Strange is another year removed from a horrific injury, playing a spot where he is the most experienced throughout his entire NFL career and is in year two of a system that seemed to revive his career.

Strange is expected to help translate the scheme to the rest of the offense, give stability to the offensive line and even help Slater through his injury, as he experienced the same trauma. An over-hated signing that is likely to prove fans wrong about their initial negativity.

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