Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Top tight ends hitting free agency this offseason:
Even after last year’s signing of Hayden Hurst, could the Carolina Panthers be in the market for a new tight end?
If so, here are some of the best that free agency has to offer:
PFF named one pending free agent that each team in the NFL “can’t afford” to lose.
Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger revealed one free agent for every team they couldn’t afford to lose and tight end Gerald Everett was their submission for the Chargers.
Here is what Spielberger had to say on why Los Angeles shouldn’t let Everett walk.
The Chargers and their new regime are in for an offseason of major contraction, with so many potential cut or trade candidates. But we’ll get to that later. For now, retaining a solid tight end who has good chemistry with Justin Herbert makes sense.
Everett’s 28 forced missed tackles over the past two seasons are the second most among tight ends, and Herbert was never afraid to look his way in high-leverage moments down in the red zone and on third downs.
Signed two offseasons ago, Everett was a vital piece in the passing game. Everett proved to be reliable with his yards-after-the-catch ability and clutchness on money downs.
Everett finished with career-highs in receptions (55) and receiving yards (555) in his first season with the Chargers. This past season, he still managed to surpass the 50-catch mark.
Everett and Justin Herbert had a solid connection the past two seasons, and it’s worth noting that new offensive coordinator Greg Roman uses a heavy dose of tight ends in his scheme.
The only thing that Everett has going against him is that he doesn’t offer much as a blocker, which Roman likes to have in his tight ends.
If the Chargers elect to let Everett walk, they could upgrade the positional room in the draft with someone like Brock Bowers with the No. 5 overall selection and a later pick.
PFF dropped their top 150 free agents heading into the 2024 offseason and there are three Chargers on the list.
With a new general manager and head coach soon to be brought in, they will quickly have to figure out which pending free agents will be re-signed.
Set to have 20 pending free agents, the Chargers have three players that made Pro Football Focus’ top 150 free agent rankings.
Even though he surpassed 1,000 total yards on the year, Ekeler had a disappointing 2023 season. He wasn’t efficient on the ground, averaging a career-low 3.5 yards per carry.
Even though Ekeler will be 29 years old next season, his versatility should still appeal to a handful of NFL teams.
Ekeler pushed for a contract extension and then a trade before the season once it became clear the Chargers didn’t plan to add years to his contract.
The former undrafted free agent has lost some of his top-end speed and acceleration, but he is still shifty over the middle with good start-and-stop ability laterally and a natural pass-catching prowess that rivals any back in the NFL.
The Chargers found a consistent safety net for Justin Herbert to target last year when they acquired Everett in free agency ahead of the 2022 season. He finished with career-highs in receptions (55) and receiving yards (555).
While he didn’t top those numbers this past season, Everett was still a reliable target, and his ability to pick up yards after the catch came in handy. A team looking for a pass-catching tight end could use his services.
Everett earned Justin Herbert’s trust on critical downs and in the red zone over the past two seasons and has forced 28 missed tackles since 2022, the second most among tight ends. Everett does well to plant his foot in the ground on his first step after the catch and then bounce off contact, and he consistently shakes out of arm tackles by continuing to drive his feet.
Everett is more of a check-down and tunnel screen outlet, averaging more than five yards after the catch in five consecutive seasons with an average depth of target around just six yards, but he can make the occasional contested catch — which was particularly on display in 2022 when he made eight contested snags.
Gilman became a starter for the first time in his career and took every bit of his opportunities, amassing career-high numbers in tackles (73), interceptions (2) and forced fumbles (3). He was always around the football to make a play and at only 26, Gilman has plenty of good seasons in him.
Here are a few matchups to keep an eye on in the game.
The Chargers’ extended audition for 2024 continues on Sunday with a matchup against the Broncos, a team that has only recently entered the “looking ahead to next year” tier.
Here are a few matchups to keep an eye on in the game.
The Chargers have 20 players set to hit the free agency market.
The Chargers will have some tough decisions in the next few months, with a handful of players slated to hit free agency.
It also doesn’t help that they will be strapped for cash, set to have the fourth-lowest salary cap totals among all 32 teams in the league.
Here are 20 Chargers players who will be pending free agents in 2024 (via Spotrac):
Here are four matchups to watch in Saturday’s game.
The Chargers will be looking to play spoiler on Saturday, hosting an 8-6 Bills team currently on the cusp of a playoff berth.
Here are four matchups to watch in Saturday’s game.
Somebody call Kyle Brandt.
While the Los Angeles Chargers were getting toasted by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football, tight end Gerald Everett didn’t let that stop him from sending cornerback Amik Robertson into the next century.
On an absolutely filthy run, Everett stiff-armed Robertson to the ground while he was charging forward to get yards and completely ran right past him to keep the play going.
Like, Robertson got completely disregarded by Everett on this play. He just tossed him to the side and kept going about his business.
This was absolutely brutal for Robertson, and it was a brief glimmer of hope for the Chargers on a night where nothing seemed to be going right.
Wanna see an angry run? 😡 @lightningstrk12#LACvsLV on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/ga7O4RMwdt pic.twitter.com/8YngQeOjFl— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2023
Everett really proved here that he’s someone that’s worth keeping around, even if the Chargers likely make major changes to the coaching staff and roster this season.
With a highlight like this, he should absolutely be a key cog for the team going forward.
At least for this game, this highlight gave Chargers fans something to root for on a night where there wasn’t much.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1371]
A true risk-reward play, this veteran tight end has a great matchup.
Every week, at least one player becomes my fascination of whether he’s worthy of a fantasy football start as a streamer. The decision can be a mental wrestling match, but for the purpose of brevity, only one player can be chosen as my favorite fantasy football gamble of the week.
The players chosen in this series are meant to be fliers for fantasy owners in desperate situations or those willing to take an intentional risk. No player is intended to be a lineup lock for guaranteed results, hence the name of the series.
Tracking my 2023 predictions: 6-7-0
All-time record: 25-38-3 (40.2%)
Win: Player produces ≥ 75% of projected fantasy points
Loss: Player produces >75% of projected fantasy points
Tie: Player is ejected, leaves with an injury, or is ruled out after publishing
This year, we’ll also track the accuracy on a percentage basis to show relative results, since sometimes calling a player a loss doesn’t actually hurt gamers. An example would be if a projection narrowly falls short of the 75 percent threshold, the player is still of use in a lineup.
In some ways, claiming a win from last week’s recommendation of Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson feels a little dirty. It rarely works out when a promoted player throws three picks, but he saved the day with a rushing touchdown and finished QB10 in a week with six teams on bye. Had Wilson not thrown the three picks, his final fantasy tally would have been the exact 23.7 points I projected.
We’ll take every victory we can get, and Week 13’s dub makes it five straight after an embarrassing 1-7 start to the season. Keep grinding, folks.
Preface: This one isn’t for everyone and requires an conscious willingness to gamble. Fortunately, tight end is the most volatile position from week to week, and the crop of safe plays is wafer thin.
The main reason to be concerned is Everett’s typical lack of volume, but that trepidation is lessened by his recent uptick in action. The past two weeks have seen him get targeted four and five times, respectively, with the veteran securing four in each contest. He has 43 and 44 yards in those outings, and Everett found paydirt in Week 12 for his third score in the last six outings.
[lawrence-related id=485429]
Now, the target share should decrease if Joshua Palmer (knee) indeed returns this week; he was limited during the first two days of practice. Could there be some rust? Sure. But the volume isn’t what makes Everett attractive. (Friday update: Palmer has been ruled out, making Everett a safer choice.)
In the last five weeks, Denver has given up touchdowns at the seventh-highest rate, and this is the No. 2 matchup for points in non-PPR as well as reception-rewarding formats. The position has scored three times in the most recent four games against this defense, and just three teams have surrendered more yards per game since Week 8 than Denver’s 72. The success hasn’t been isolated to the second half of the season, however, as the Broncos rate tied for dead last at defending TEs in 2023.
Given the rather low probability of Everett seeing more than five or six targets, he’s overly reliant on getting into the end zone, and that’s is entirely to the focus of this risk-reward calculation.
While this projected line isn’t extreme, it would have placed in the TE1 category in each of the last five weeks.
My projection: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards, 1 TD (13.9 PPR fantasy points)
We liked Zay Flowers’ first celebration a lot more than Lamar Jackson.
After falling asleep on the Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers game Sunday night, I woke up to see what I missed only to find out exactly what I suspected. Nothing. Well, nothing besides the celebrations. That’s what I missed.
The game didn’t appear to be particularly interesting. The Ravens won as expected and even covered the three-point spread, but they weren’t the dominant force they can be at times. And the Chargers were still the Chargers. So, yeah, celebrations were the most interesting the thing to come out of the game.
More specifically Gerald Everett’s imitation of Ray Lewis and Zay Flowers’ attempts to not embarrass himself in front of Lamar Jackson got a good chuckle out of me. They got me thinking, there were some good celebrations this week, somebody should rank them. So screw it, I’ll be the somebody.
Keenan Allen was among the five non-participants.
The Chargers had their first practice in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Packers on Thursday.
Los Angeles had five non-participants: Keenan Allen (shoulder), Gerald Everett (back), Sebastian Joseph-Day (knee), Khalil Mack (rest) and Donald Parham (hip).
Brandon Staley said he’s hopeful Allen will play this week. He is dealing with the left shoulder issue that popped up in last weekend’s game against the Lions.
Staley considered Everett day to day with a back injury that he sustained in the first half against Detroit.
The statuses of Joseph-Day and Everett remain to be seen.
JT Woods was a limited participant. The window for Woods to be activated off of the NFI (non-football injury) list is open.
