The Chargers were arguably the most active team on Friday, with two out of the three moves having a positive impact on their salary cap space.
Los Angeles kicked things off by franchise tagging tight end Hunter Henry.
If Henry signs the tender, it will cost approximately $11 million. Both parties have until July 15 to come to an agreement on a multi-year deal. If not, Henry will have to sign in order to play in 2020.
Following that, the Bolts released linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane. The two cuts save the Chargers $9.5 million in salary cap space — $5.25 million for Davis and $4.25 million for Mebane.
Finally, it was reported that Los Angeles is restructuring LB Denzel Perryman’s contract. Perryman was originally set to make more than $6 million in 2020 and incentives can now get him to that number.
After the moves, the Chargers saved $13.4 million, but incurred $4 million in dead cap. All and all, the franchise currently has $51 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap.
This amount drops a bit when factoring in Henry’s franchise tag (assuming they don’t work out a long-term deal), their draft picks and their in-season moves.
The bottom line is that L.A. is in good shape heading into the first week of free agency, and based on how active they’ve been prior to the new league year just hints that something big is bound to happen.
Here are some possibilities that I think could happen:
- They will extend defensive end Joey Bosa.
- They will aggressively pursue a quarterback like Tom Brady or Teddy Bridgewater.
- They will trade for quarterback Cam Newton, which would require them to take on the money he is owed.
- They will trade for offensive tackle Trent Williams and give him the long-term extension that he wants.
- They will sign one or two premiere offensive tackles like Jack Conklin, Bryan Bulaga or Jason Peters.
- They will go all in on a wide receiver like Robby Anderson or Emanuel Sanders.
- They will address the cornerback position with a big-name like Xavier Rhodes or Byron Jones.
The Chargers could go about these options in a multitude of ways to have them set up for something that’s been brought up more as of late: a trade up in the draft to grab the quarterback of the future (assuming they don’t in free agency), which would require them to give up capital and miss out on addressing positions of need.
The limit does not exist on the different scenarios that Los Angeles will go when the frenzy begins this upcoming week. But the bottom line is that I expect them to be more active than they have ever been since general manager Tom Telesco took over in 2013.