POLL: Grade Chargers’ offseason moves so far

What grade do you give GM Tom Telesco for his work in the offseason so far?

It’s been nearly three weeks since the NFL’s free agency period opened, and as it seems to be every year, the bulk of the madness happened in the first few days.

So how have the Chargers done?

This year’s offseason hasn’t been as intriguing as others since they don’t possess as much spendings as previous off-seasons. Their only external free agent signing has been linebacker Eric Kendricks and they’ve re-signed a few of their own.

Here’s the list of Los Angeles’ ins and outs so far in free agency, along with the team(s) that they went to and came from:

Gained

LB Eric Kendricks (Vikings)

Retained

QB Easton Stick

OT Trey Pipkins

TE Donald Parham

DL Morgan Fox

P JK Scott

CB Kemon Hall

Lost

LB Drue Tranquill (Chiefs)

OT Storm Norton (Saints)

DL Joe Gaziano (Falcons)

WR DeAndre Carter (Raiders)

DT Breiden Fehoko (Steelers)

LB Troy Reeder (Vikings)

There are still some players available that they could sign, but the team has made the direction of their plan to attack the draft very clear. They will need to prioritize wide receiver, tight end, edge defender and secondary and offensive line depth.

So grade do you give general manager Tom Telesco for his work in the offseason so far? Vote in the poll below.

[crowdsignal poll=12044476]

Chargers make roster moves on Wednesday

The Chargers announced that defensive lineman Joe Gaziano was placed on the IR.

The Chargers announced Wednesday that defensive lineman Joe Gaziano was placed on the injured reserve. In correspondence, Los Angeles signed DL Christopher Hinton to the active roster.

Additionally, L.A. signed wide receiver Jason Moore and DL Aaron Crawford to the practice squad.

Gaziano suffered a groin injury in the victory over the Titans. In five games, he logged eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack.

Hinton has appeared in one game this season in Week 14 against the Dolphins. He was inactive last weekend after being promoted from the practice squad.

Moore caught one of his two targets for five yards through six games this season with the Chargers.

Crawford started his career with the Ravens as an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina in 2020. He appeared in one game that season. Crawford spent time on the Giants’ practice squad before being waived.

Chargers vs. Chiefs: 5 storylines to follow in Week 11

Here are five important things to watch during the Chargers’ matchup with the Chiefs.

The Chargers are looking to get revenge on the Chiefs after losing to them back in Week 2.

Here are five storylines to watch for Sunday’s matchup.

Guess who’s back?

The Chargers could be getting some key contributors back at the right time. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are in line to play on Sunday, as the two were back at practice this past week.

Allen said he is “100%,” and it is now the coach’s decision whether he will play. Meanwhile, Williams said, “I’ll be out there.”

Allen sustained a hamstring injury, returned briefly, and played on a pitch count in Week 7 against the Seahawks, which was the same game Williams suffered a high ankle sprain.

Allen and Williams have been on the field at the same time for just 43 offensive plays this season. Their absences were a big reason the passing game was uneven.

Allen should aid in third-down and red zone situations, whereas Williams gives Justin Herbert a big-bodied target in the intermediate and deep areas of the field to open things up.

The Chiefs rank 22nd in pass defense DVOA.

Austin could be in for big performance

The Chargers are excited about the returns of Allen and Williams. But, while they would give the offense a big boost, Austin Ekeler might be the best option to tear apart the Chiefs.

Kansas City ranks 26th in DVOA allowed on running back targets while surrendering a league-high 8.6 running back targets per game and third-most yards per game (51.2).

Meanwhile, Ekeler has averaged nine receptions and has five total touchdowns in the past four games.

Herbert will be eager to distribute the wealth to his top weapons again, but Ekeler could ultimately be the one who gives the Chiefs problems on Sunday.

Containing the beast

The Chiefs rank No. 1 in offensive DVOA, and the primary reason for being the top dog is Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is leading the league with 2,936 yards. He is on pace to throw for 5,545 yards, which would top Peyton Manning’s single-season passing yards record (5,545).

In Week 2, Los Angeles held Mahomes to 235 yards and two touchdowns. Aside from a couple of big throws, the defense compressed the pocket, kept contain, and got interior pressure to minimize him from working his magic. The coverage was tight down the field. Players rallied to the football.

They need to do the same thing to come out victorious this time, which might be a tall task without Joey Bosa, who played in the first matchup.

This time, Mahomes will be without some of his pass-catching options, JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) and Mecole Hardman (injured reserve). Travis Kelce remains his top target. In the two team’s first meeting, Kelce caught five passes for 51 yards.

In addition, the Chargers will face the newest member of the Chiefs’ wide receiver corps, Kadarius Toney. Toney caught four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown and had two carries for 33 yards last weekend.

Protecting Herbert

Herbert’s fractured rib cartilage occurred against none other than the Chiefs in the second week of the season. And Kansas City will look to put Herbert under duress early and often again.

Over the past two weeks of play, the Chiefs’ defense has come up with a whopping total of eight sacks, including five in Week 10 against the Jaguars.

The Chargers’ pass protection has been inconsistent over the past few weeks. While it’s been a few things for this issue, Trey Pipkins playing with a sprained MCL and missing last weekend’s game due to it is one of them.

Pipkins was removed from the injury report and is slated to start, which is great news.

The new guys

The Chargers lost three interior defensive linemen for the remainder of the season in the past two weeks. First, it was Austin Johnson. Then, it was Otito Ogbonnia and Christian Covington. In addition, Jerry Tillery was waived.

Tyeler Davison was signed to the 53-man roster off the Browns’ practice squad. Joe Gaziano was signed from the practice squad to the active roster.

Davison brings plenty of experience, having appeared in 105 games and started 85 with the Saints and Falcons. He has the motor and hand usage to rush the passer and anchoring ability in the run game.

Gaziano made the most of his limited opportunities last season in both departments but will primarily be deployed as a pass rusher alongside Morgan Fox. He plays with quickness and good lateral movement.

Chargers sign 14 players to 2022 practice squad

The Los Angeles Chargers announced 14 players that will begin the 2022 season on the practice squad.

The Los Angeles Chargers began announcing members of their practice squad on Wednesday, signing the following players:

OL Zack Bailey

WR Michael Bandy

DT Christian Covington

DL Joe Gaziano

CB Kemon Hall

CB Michael Jacquet

TE Hunter Kampmoyer

EDGE Carlo Kemp

S Raheem Layne

LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams

WR Jason Moore

WR Joe Reed

OT Foster Sarell

S Mark Webb Jr.

Teams can have up to 16 players on their practice squad, meaning the Bolts will add two more players in the coming days.

Stay tuned for more information.

Chargers waiving two defensive tackles

The Chargers have six defensive tackles on the roster.

Ahead of the roster cutdown deadline, the Chargers are waiving defensive tackles Christian Covington and Joe Gaziano.

Signed last offseason, Covington appeared in 16 games with three starts. He totaled 52 tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack.

Gaziano, a 2020 undrafted free agent, appeared in 16 games with one start. He amassed 14 tackles, three quarterback hits and one pass deflected.

The roster moves came a day after DT Andrew Brown was waived.

That leaves Los Angeles with six defensive tackles – Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox, Jerry Tillery, Otito Ogbonnia and Breiden Fehoko.

The Chargers will have until 1 pm PT to finalize their 53-man roster.

Chargers’ Corey Linsley returns to practice

The Pro Bowl center is trending towards playing this weekend against the Raiders.

Chargers center Corey Linsley was back at practice in full capacity on Thursday.

Linsley left this past Sunday’s victory against the Broncos with a back issue in the first quarter. He missed the Week 16 matchup against the Texans the week prior after testing positive for COVID-19.

In both instances, Linsley was replaced by fourth-year Scott Quessenberry.

Linsley, who earned his first Pro Bowl honors, has allowed just eight pressures and zero sacks in 15 games this season.

In other related news, edge defender Joe Gaziano did not practice for the second straight day, while Drue Tranquill practiced in a limited capacity.

Chargers remove 3 from reserve/COVID-19 list

After adding seven players on Monday, the Chargers removed three from the COVID-19 list.

The Chargers on Monday removed Austin Ekeler, Tevaughn Campbell, and Joe Gaziano from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

This move came after the team placed seven players on the COVID-19 list.

Ekeler, Campbell and Gaziano had all been on the list since last week, and were forced to miss Los Angeles’ loss to the Texans.

The removal of those three leaves the Bolts with 15 active-roster players on the COVID list.

Chris Harris Jr.

Michael Davis

Nasir Adderley

Alohi Gilman

Emeke Egbule

Senio Kelemete

Andrew Brown

Joey Bosa

Chase Daniel

Jalen Guyton

Kemon Hall

Justin Jones

Corey Linsley

Trey Marshall

Andre Roberts

Chargers add two more players to COVID-19 list

The Chargers’ COVID-19 outbreak now sits at nine players.

The Chargers’ COVID-19 outbreak now sits at nine players.

After placing seven on Monday, Chase Daniel and Joe Gaziano were the latest to be added, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

If Daniel is out this weekend against the Texans, Easton Stick will serve as Justin Herbert’s backup.

Meanwhile, Gaziano has been an integral part of the defensive line rotation. If he can’t go, expect a player, like Andrew Brown to be promoted from the practice squad.

If Daniel or Gaziano are vaccinated, they can use one of three testing options and return if they’re asymptomatic for at least 24 hours, per the new protocols.

Chargers run defense has tall task against Bengals

The Chargers have struggled with slowing the run. That needs to change in a hurry as they meet the Bengals in Week 13.

After appearing to be trending upward against the run, the Chargers took a step back in last Sunday’s loss to the Broncos – allowing 147 carries on 33 carries.

One of the primary reasons for the woeful performance was due to personnel.

Rather than rolling with the team’s best run defenders from the week prior, Breiden Fehoko and Joe Gaziano, Jerry Tillery played most of the snaps out of any interior defender (89%).

As for Fehoko and Gaziano, the two played just 24% and 11% of the snaps, respectively. While they were on the sidelines, Tillery struggled, which led to gaping holes for Melvin Gordon and Javonte Williams.

Furthermore, L.A. was without veteran Linval Joseph who’s missed the last two games due to an injury and after testing positive for COVID-19.

Justin Jones, who has been a key component for the unit since his return after the Chargers’ bye week, gave his thoughts about the unit’s performance.

“We weren’t settled down in that first quarter,” Jones said. “That first quarter, I feel like they had a lot of rushing yards. The defense, as a whole, had to settle in. The defense had to figure out what our identity was going to be for that game.

We just had to get our groove and get into our rhythm. The next three quarters after that, the rushing yards really weren’t affecting us. But, that first quarter really put us in a hole. It put our offense in a hole, as well.”

The Chargers can’t afford to make the same costly mistakes against the Bengals this weekend. Joe Mixon has been a highlight of their success rate in the team’s last two contests.

Mixon was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after his best performance of the season in the win over the Steelers, in which he ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.

“He’s a really good back,” Jones said. “It’s a really good challenge for us up front and a really good challenge for us as a defense. We’ll come and play together. We need to go out and establish our identity from the first play. I feel like it is going to be a battle.”

Trio makes case for more work in Chargers’ defensive line rotation

The Chargers’ defensive front had its best showing this season in the win over the Steelers.

Without primary interior defensive linemen Linval Joseph, Jerry Tillery, and Christian Covington, the Chargers had to call on the backups and practice squad in the 41-37 victory over the Steelers.

Joining Justin Jones were first and second-year undrafted players Breiden Fehoko, Joe Gaziano, Forrest Merrill, and Andrew Brown.

What was viewed as a mismatch coming into the game, they made rookie running back Najee Harris a non-factor. They limited Pittsburgh to 55 yards on 18 carries — a 3.1 yards per attempt average.

While Jones anchored the unit, playing 81% of the defensive snaps, the others aided, with Gaziano and Fehoko being the standouts of the crop.

Playing the second-most defensive snaps out of the positional group (62%), Gaziano made positive things happen in both facets, creating inside pressure and stacking the run.

Gaziano finished with three tackles, a quarterback hit, and a pass deflection.

“I really felt Joe in pass rush and in run defense,” coach Brandon Staley said on Gaziano. “He just was active. He blocked a couple of shots. This guy was really active.”

Besides occupying blockers to help keep his teammates clean, Fehoko showed off brute strength to reset the line of scrimmage and some quickness to work his way through gaps.

Fehoko finished with three tackles.

“He has that warrior spirit,” Staley said on Fehoko. “He’s a multiplier, man. He just makes you feel good at the game because you know this guy is going to give you everything that he has.”

Merrill had just 11 snaps, but he still made the most of them.

Merrill’s highlight play showed off his press strength and natural low pad level, walking rookie center Kendrick Green to the lap of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Even though it was one of the best showings in the trenches this season with those guys, Los Angeles is likely to get Tillery and Covington back for the Week 12 matchup against the Broncos.

Tillery and Covington will likely resume their roles upon returning. But after Sunday, Gaziano, Fehoko, and Merrill proved they should be part of the rotation the rest of the way out.