Category: Latest Chargers news

Poll: Which free agents should Chargers re-sign in 2020?

If you were the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers, who would you re-sign this offseason?

The Los Angeles Chargers have a ton of impending free agents when the new league year begins in March. It’s unclear how many of these players the team will be able to keep, but they will have to be selective during the process.

Even though they have the most salary cap available that they’ve had in years, they need to make sure that they have enough to bring in unrestricted free agents from other teams.

There are several of these players that will likely get attention on the open market because of their success in the blue and gold. Some are already being considered as top free agents by analysts.

Three Chargers’ players were listed in ESPN’s top-50 free agents in 2020: tight end Hunter Henry quarterback Philip Rivers and running back Melvin Gordon. There are other notables including guard Michael Schofield, safety Adrian Phillips, fullback Derek Watt and defensive tackle Damion Square.

If the decision was up to you, which free agents would you have the Chargers re-sign in 2020?

While our poll only lists seven, you can find the full list of Chargers free agents below.

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Chargers’ Nasir Adderley positioned for a breakout season in 2020

Nasir Adderley is poised for a breakout campaign in 2020.

The Los Angeles Chargers were in need of finding a difference-maker at the free safety position to pair with strong safety Derwin James heading into the 2019 regular season.

The team took defensive tackle Jerry Tillery in the first-round of the draft, and a round later they were able to snag Nasir Adderley – a player who was viewed as a first rounder throughout the pre-draft process.

The former Delaware product had high expectations heading into the summer, but he was derailed by a lingering hamstring issue that had been ongoing even before he was selected.

Adderley’s injury forced him to miss mandatory minicamp and most of training camp. He made his NFL debut in the preseason finale against the San Francisco 49ers, where he recorded an interception, giving fans a glimpse of the talented safety.

Unfortunately, that was the only positive showing in his first year. The hamstring continued to be an issue, which forced the team to place him on the injured reserve.

Adderley only played 10 defensive snaps in four regular season games.

With a full offseason to get back to full health, everyone is hopeful that he can make an impact next season – which is why Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox pegged listed him as a potential breakout player in 2020.

The Los Angeles Chargers scooped up former Delaware safety Nasir Adderley in the second round of last year’s draft. A versatile defensive back, Adderley was supposed to partner with second-year man Derwin James to give the Chargers two young playmakers in their secondary. But a hamstring injury limited Adderley to just four games.

“It wasn’t the rookie year I was expecting. I was hoping to make a big impact,” Adderley said, per Gilbert Manzano of the Orange County Register.

If healthy, Adderley should have the opportunity to claim the starting job from Rayshawn Jenkins, who will be a free agent after the 2020 season. In the meantime, Adderley’s versatility and ball skills should earn him opportunities in sub-packages and at cornerback.

With opposing quarterbacks looking to avoid players such as James and Casey Hayward Jr., Adderley’s ball skills could lead to breakout production in next season.

Even if Adderley is healthy, being penciled in as the starting free safety is not a given. Rayshawn Jenkins, who started at the position all season, was promising in the role. Jenkins is under contract through the 2020 season.

Luckily, Adderley does offer some versatility as he played cornerback in college before moving to the free safety position.

If the Chargers wish to keep Jenkins as the starter, Adderley could resort back to playing corner since he is strong in zone coverage, where he can use his route anticipation and ball skills to flourish.

Adderley will likely be a full participant when offseason workouts begin in April. This will be a big season for the second-year safety, who is hopeful to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball.

Chargers players react to the death of Kobe Bryant

Players of the Los Angeles Chargers react after the heartbreaking news.

The sports world was absolutely heartbroken when news broke of Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash on Sunday. The five-time NBA champion was 41 years old.

Los Angeles Chargers players took to Twitter and expressed their shock and sorrow after hearing about the passing of one of the best players to play the game.

6 potential Chargers who stood out during Senior Bowl game

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out six potential Los Angeles Chargers who stood out during the Senior Bowl game.

After a trio of practices, the 2020 Reese’s Senior Bowl concluded on Saturday with the annual all-star game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Here are six potential Chargers targets who stood out in the showcase:

Justin Herbert | QB | Oregon

Herbert has already been mentioned as a player who shined earlier this week, but he’s on here again because he finished it off with a solid outing in live game action. The 6-foot-6 and 227 pound signal-caller finished 9-of-12 passing for 83 yards and one touchdown, as well as three carries for 22 yards, showing off his mobility. Not only did Herbert flash his live arm, but he took a leap in his vision and processing. The former Oregon product looked poised and in control of the offense in his only quarter of action. As a result, he was named the 2020 Senior Bowl MVP. Already a commonly mocked prospect to the Chargers with the No. 6 overall selection, he helped his case even more to potentially being the pick.

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Report: Chargers offensive line coach Pat Meyer expected to join Panthers

The Los Angeles Chargers are losing one of their coaches to the Carolina Panthers.

Newly hired Panthers coach Matt Rhule has been hard at work to put his coaching staff together for the 2020 season.

Rhule is expected to hire Chargers offensive line coach and run game coordinator Pat Meyer, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Meyer has spent the past three seasons as the Chargers’ offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Before coming to Los Angeles, he was an offensive assistant for the Bills from 2015-16.

The offensive line has been a below average positional group for years now. That’s not to say Meyer is to blame, but the front office will surely be looking to fill the vacancy with a candidate that has a proven track record.

Rex Ryan hopes Chargers draft QB Tua Tagovailoa

Rex Ryan wants the Los Angeles Chargers to draft quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Former Buffalo Bills and New York Jets coach Rex Ryan is currently in Hawaii serving as the head coach for one of the two teams at the Hula Bowl, an all-star game for some of the top prospects in the country.

Ryan spent some of his time talking to KHON2 News’ Ren Clayton, where he talked about some of top players from the state of Hawaii. Among them is former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who Ryan believes him and the Los Angeles Chargers would be the perfect pairing.

“I hope he lands with the LA Chargers. And the reason I say that is because my son is a coach on that staff. He wants Tua. I want him there because my kid’s there. And I know if he’s there, they’re going to win,” Ryan said.

Ryan said that his son, Seth wants him with the No. 6 overall selection. Seth works as a quality control coach on the staff of the Chargers.

Tua is certainly in consideration for the Bolts’ first-round pick. He is arguably one of the most polarizing prospects in this year’s class, but he is the most questionable, considering he is coming off a severe lower body injury.

“I understand he’s an outstanding young man. So he’s got it. I know he’s had some injury issues and things but that’s just the way it goes. Every player is going to get injured at some point. He just happened to get injured now. Hopefully all that’s behind him and he goes on and has a 10-15 year career. That would be great. I know that’s what the state of Hawaii is looking for also.”

Tagovailoa is expected to hold about a 40-minute session in which he makes 60-80 throws in front of scouts. If his recovery process goes quicker than anticipated, he could throw at Alabama’s Pro Day in March. If not, he will hold it likely closer to the draft.

Tagovailoa could benefit from being on a team like Los Angeles because he wouldn’t have to start Year 1 since Philip Rivers or Tyrod Taylor will be the starter in 2020, giving Tua enough time to sit and completely get back to full health for the 2021 season where he could then take the reins.

Chargers’ Tom Telesco discusses evaluation of quarterbacks at Senior Bowl

Los Angeles Chargers Tom Telesco joined Chris Hayre on the Chargers Weekly podcast.

Since general manager Tom Telesco took over in 2013, he’s heard the same question over and over in the offseason. That question being if the Chargers are looking into drafting Philip Rivers’ successor.

For the most part, he’s given the same answer, and that is that they are looking at all possible options. Telesco has yet to draft a quarterback in the first two days of the draft since taking over, but that could very well change this time, given the fact that the Philip Rivers era could be coming to an end.

Like any other year, Telesco is taking a hard look at the quarterback position in free agency and the NFL draft. That evaluation process started this past week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which was held in Mobile, AL.

Telesco, who came on Chris Hayre’s Chargers Weekly podcast, talked about the importance of evaluating the quarterbacks at the annual all-star game.

“I mean, it’s always important,” Telesco said of the quarterbacks participating at the Senior Bowl. “I mean, really, it’s more important what they did at their college for three or four years. But yeah, the all-star game is great, and it’s great to see guys want to come and compete and play no matter where you think you may be drafted to come compete.”

This year’s Senior Bowl featured three signal-callers that the Bolts likely have under a microscope: former Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Utah State’s Jordan Love and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts.

All quarterbacks have their own unique skillsets. But it’s been Herbert and Love who have garnered the majority of the attention because both players are projected to go in the first-round, and they each would bring some enticing traits to Los Angeles.

In his end-of-season press conference, Telesco did say that drafting a quarterback is not off the table even if they re-sign Rivers.

“The quarterback position, we’ve scouted it every year. It’s not like we go into a year and say, ‘You know what? We’re all good at that position. Let’s not even worry about watching practice. We’ll have somebody else worry about that.’ That’s not how that works. But I love seeing players that are ‘projected to go high’ and still want to come play in this game. That’s great to see,” Telesco said.

But with Rivers being a free agent and his age continuing to get up there, it does make the possibility of them selecting one in the early rounds more likely.

Mel Kiper gives Chargers quarterback of the future in first mock draft

ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his first mock draft on Friday.

NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah released his first mock draft a couple days ago, where he gave the Los Angeles Chargers former Alabama offensive tackle Jedrick Wills with the No. 6 overall selection.

Two days later, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. put out his first mock draft, but he elected to go in a different direction. Kiper gave the Bolts former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert with their first-round selection.

Here is what Kiper had to say about Herbert to Los Angeles:

The Chargers have some big decisions to make over the next few months. Will they bring back free-agent quarterback Philip Rivers? Will they pay up to keep tight end Hunter Henry and running back Melvin Gordon? Rivers showed some decline in 2019, throwing 20 interceptions. It could be time to start fresh with the 6-foot-6 Herbert, who has the highest ceiling of any of the quarterbacks in this class. His inconsistency can be maddening and his decision-making must improve, but you can’t doubt his talent, and a team in the top 10 could fall in love. L.A. has some issues; its defense produced just 30 sacks (despite Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram III combining for 18.5), and quarterbacks completed 70.7% of passes against it, highest in the league. The Chargers also got almost nothing from top 2019 picks Jerry Tillery and Nasir Adderley. This also could be a spot to watch for defense.

Herbert, the 6-foot-6 and 227 pound signal-caller, has been commonly mocked to the Chargers, and it’s unlikely to come to an end anytime soon. The team needs to start planning for the future even if they decide to bring back veteran Philip Rivers for another season or two.

Los Angeles is in a prime position to snag one, considering how high they’re picking and Herbert would be a solid option. The opinions are mixed on the Eugene native because of his inconsistencies, but the talent and potential to become a premiere NFL quarterback is there.

Herbert is coming off a great week of practices at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he displayed his maculate arm strength, terrific ball placement, athleticism and he checked off boxes that might’ve been questioned by some including his decision-making and working through his reads in team drills.

Another thing that a lot of teams want to know is if he is capable of leading an offense. Herbert said in an interview that he is vocal as opposed to being an introvert like many people label him. He displayed that on the field, and all of his receivers responded really well to him.

The former Oregon product will play in a live game setting to conclude his week down in Mobile, AL on Saturday. The game will start at 11:30 a.m. PT and will be televised on NFL Network.

4 potential Chargers who stood out during Day 3 of Senior Bowl practices

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out the four potential Los Angeles Chargers who stood out during Day 3 of Senior Bowl practices.

The third and final day of Senior Bowl practices concluded on Thursday.

Here are four potential Chargers who stood out on Day 3:

Justin Herbert | QB | Oregon

Herbert finished practices with a very productive day for the South Team on Thursday. During the red zone drills, he was dropping dimes in the corner of end zone. In the two-minute drill, Herbert looked composed, he was accurate with nearly all of his throws and each one had pop, displaying his arm talent that he is coveted for. Even when facing pressure, he was quick to diagnose  it, never panicked, rolled out and found his targets each time. He didn’t really take any shots downfield, but his decision-making was precise and he showed great vision to efficiently work through his reads, which is something that he needs to do a better job at. For his phenomenal week, Herbert was named Practice Player of the Week.

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Best moments from Chargers in Pro Bowl practices

Defensive end Melvin Ingram and wide receiver Keenan Allen have been characters during the Pro Bowl practices.

The Senior Bowl has been the theme of the week from me, but we can’t forget that the 2020 Pro Bowl is also going on a little more south in Orlando, FL.

Despite the fact that the event doesn’t attract many fans anymore, it does showcase some entertaining moments between players from all 32 NFL teams in one big setting.

Defensive end Melvin Ingram and wide receiver Keenan Allen are the players representing the Bolts and we know they both have unique personalities – which we’ve been fortunate to see, thanks to the team’s official Twitter account.

Here are some of the best moments thus far.