Tag: Joe Hortiz

Report: Giants hiring Joe Schoen cost them Jim Harbaugh as coach

In 2022, the New York Giants hired Joe Schoen as GM over Joe Hortiz, who reportedly was set to hire Jim Harbaugh as his head coach.

As the New York Giants headed into the 2023 season, they thought they had nailed the general manager and head coaching positions with the hiring of Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll to five-year contracts.

The Giants were coming off a 9-7-1 2022 regular season finish and a trip to the playoffs that included a win on the road. Schoen appeared to be fully in charge and Daboll was the darling of the football world being named the NFL’s Coach of the Year.

But a lot has gone down since then. The Giants’ juggernaut has dropped out of the sky and are in a death spiral. They are 8-23 since the start of the 2023 season and going nowhere fast.

They do not have a franchise quarterback of the future on their roster and many are questioning the competence of the entire organization from ownership on down.

Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, who has been covering the team for over 30 years, believes that if the Giants make changes this offseason, it may not be a clean sweep. They may decide to keep both Schoen and Daboll or they may keep one and let the other go.

Veteran sports author and columnist, Ian O’Connor, looked back at the move to hire Schoen and Daboll and the other options the Giants had available to them with back then.

“The Giants loved Adam Peters as a GM candidate but loved Joe Schoen just a bit more,” O’Connor posted on X. “They thought John Harbaugh’s guy in Baltimore, Joe Hortiz, was a bit nervous in his interview, but he was going to hire Jim Harbaugh as Giants head coach. What could have been?”

Peters was with San Francisco at the time as general manager John Lynch’s assistant. He was hired this past offseason by Washington to be their GM. The Commanders are 9-5 this season and headed towards the playoffs.

Hortiz was the Ravens’ Director of Player Personnel and is now the general manager of the Los Angeles Chargers and did indeed hire Jim Harbaugh as his head coach. The Chargers are 8-6 this season and currently are in the seventh playoff spot in the AFC.

While these other teams are flourishing, the Giants are floundering. Yes, what could have been…?

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Chargers sign Taylor Heinicke, make several roster moves

The Chargers made several roster moves on Thursday.

The Chargers made several roster moves on Thursday, including making the signing of quarterback Taylor Heinicke official.

Los Angeles will send the Falcons a 2025 seventh-round pick that converts into a 2025 sixth-rounder if certain conditions are met.

In correspondence, the team released safety Tony Jefferson and waived running back Jaret Patterson. Jefferson was signed to the practice squad.

Additionally, L.A. signed center Sam Mustipher and tight end Eric Tomlinson to the practice squad. Cornerback Robert Kennedy was released from the practice squad.

Mustipher spent the 2023 season with the Ravens, appearing in seven games and starting two. Before that, he spent the first three seasons of his career with the Bears, where he made 40 starts.

Tomlinson has played in 85 career games (53 starts) between seven teams (Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Giants, Raiders, Jets and Eagles). He has totaled 27 receptions for 280 yards (10.4 yards per catch) and three touchdowns.

Report: Chargers signing Sam Mustipher to practice squad

The Chargers signed former Bears, Ravens, and Broncos center Sam Mustipher to the practice squad on Wednesday.

The Chargers have added depth on the interior of the offensive line.

Los Angeles signed Sam Mustipher to the practice squad on Wednesday, adding a center with nearly 3,000 snaps of experience to the depth chart behind Bradley Bozeman and Brenden Jaimes.

Mustipher spent the 2023 season with Baltimore, seeing action in seven games and starting two for the Ravens, all at center. Prior to that, he spent the first three seasons of his career with the Bears.

The Broncos released Mustipher on Tuesday and reportedly had an offer to return to Denver’s practice squad, but chose to sign with the Chargers instead. It ends up being a one-for-one swap after tight end Donald Parham Jr. reportedly signed with the Broncos practice squad earlier in the day.

A 2019 undrafted free agent from Notre Dame, Mustipher graded out well in the preseason for Denver but was stuck behind starter Luke Wattenberg and backup Alex Forsyth, who were roster locks for the Broncos. He will now reunite with Joe Hortiz, likely a major reason why the Chargers made the move.

Los Angeles will continue to fill out the practice squad on Wednesday.

Where are the Chargers in the waiver wire order?

The Chargers are near the top.

Now that the Chargers’ roster is set to the mandatory 53 players, they will begin reviewing the waiver wire for potential additions.

Every player with fewer than four years in the NFL is subject to the waiver wire, and teams can submit claims on players until 9 a.m. PT on Wednesday.

Waiver claims are then awarded based on the order of the waiver wire, which is determined by the finish of the 2023 season. The Chargers sit at No. 5.

Given the Bolts’ high ranking on the list, there is a good chance they can land a good player.

Below is the waiver order:

1. Carolina Panthers

2. Washington Commanders

3. New England Patriots

4. Arizona Cardinals

5. Los Angeles Chargers

6. New York Giants

7. Tennessee Titans

8. Atlanta Falcons

9. Chicago Bears

10. New York Jets

11. Minnesota Vikings

12. Denver Broncos

13. Las Vegas Raiders

14. New Orleans Saints

15. Indianapolis Colts

16. Seattle Seahawks

17. Jacksonville Jaguars

18. Cincinnati Bengals

19. Los Angeles Rams

20. Pittsburgh Steelers

21. Miami Dolphins

22. Philadelphia Eagles

23. Cleveland Browns

24. Dallas Cowboys

25. Green Bay Packers

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

27. Houston Texans

28. Buffalo Bills

29. Detroit Lions

30. Baltimore Ravens

31. San Francisco 49ers

32. Kansas City Chiefs

Chargers 53-man roster cuts tracker 2024: Live updates

Keeping you updated with the players the Chargers release ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

The Chargers concluded their training camp and preseason. Now, coach Jim Harbaugh, general manager Joe Hortiz, and company must reduce the roster to 53 players by Tuesday’s deadline at 1 p.m. PT.

That said, we are here to keep you updated on the latest news and reports about Los Angeles’ roster cuts and potential trades, so make sure to bookmark this page.

Update: Initial 53-man roster

Chargers players released:

  • TE Donald Parham Jr.
  • LB Shaq Quarterman

Chargers players waived:

  • G Karsen Barnhart
  • TE Luke Benson
  • DL Jerrod Clark
  • S Akeem Dent
  • RB Elijah Dotson
  • OLB Andrew Farmer II
  • TE Tucker Fisk
  • WR Jaelen Gill
  • LB Frank Ginda
  • CB Matt Hankins
  • S Thomas Harper
  • TE Zach Heins
  • DL Christopher Hinton
  • OLB Savion Jackson
  • LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste
  • WR Cornelius Johnson
  • WR Jaylen Johnson
  • CB Robert Kennedy
  • C Brent Laing
  • T Alex Leatherwood
  • LB Shane Lee
  • OLB Tre’Mon Morrish-Brash
  • DL CJ Okoye
  • G Willis Patrick
  • QB Luis Perez
  • S Jalyn Phillips
  • TE Isaac Rex
  • OLB Ty Shelby
  • RB Isaiah Spiller
  • CB Zamari Walton
  • WR Isaiah Wooden

Chargers receive high grade for 2024 offseason

ESPN’s Seth Walder thinks highly of the Chargers’ offseason.

The Chargers had an eventful offseason, and it received high praise from most pundits, with ESPN’s Seth Walder being the latest who liked what the Bolts did.

Walder graded each team’s offseason moves and gave Los Angeles an A-. Overall, they finished third, only behind the Eagles, who were the only team to receive an A and the Chiefs (A-).

The biggest move made by the Chargers was the hiring of Jim Harbaugh.

“It’s hard not to buy the Chargers long term with Harbaugh on board given his incredible track record and Justin Herbert under center,” Walder said. “This is a team that should be a force in the future.”

Training camp hasn’t even started yet, but there’s been nothing but rave reviews coming out of the Chargers facility with Harbaugh at the helm. His presence has positively impacted the culture of the team.

Beyond the acquisition of Harbaugh, Walder mentioned how he liked Joe Hortiz and company retooled the roster with players who will be contributors not only this season but also in 2025 and beyond.

They made minor moves in free agency — signing veteran players such as linebacker Denzel Perryman, running back Gus Edwards, center Bradley Bozeman and tight end Hayden Hurst — released high-priced receiver Mike Williams and traded receiver Keenan Allen, another costly veteran. They retained their two veteran edge rushers, Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack (a bit of a surprise), but got them to take pay cuts.

Rookies Joe Alt and Ladd McConkey received praise, as Walder said the Chargers selected two players at key positions early in the draft.

The only thing that Walder disliked was the Bolts not adding a higher-quality veteran wide receiver. While his point is valid, they still have a formidable positional group that should benefit from the arm of Justin Herbert.

On paper, the Chargers are a solid team that should be able to contend for a playoff spot this season, given Harbaugh’s presence, Herbert, top-end talent at most positions and having the second-easiest schedule.

Joe Hortiz on Quentin Johnston heading into Year 2: ‘I believe he’s really going to launch’

Joe Hortiz talked about Quentin Johnston ahead of his sophomore season.

Joe Hortiz was asked by Kay Adams on the Up & Adams show about passing on a wide receiver with the fifth pick given the state of the class. While he specifically mentioned their enthusiasm to take Joe Alt, Adams asked Hortiz where he stands on Quentin Johnston specifically after Year 1:

Quentin was a player we liked in Baltimore as well last year. When he was coming out of college, he was an elite size/speed athlete. And you saw some rawness to his game, but as big as he is, 6’3″, you watch him drop his weight, getting in and out of breaks, come to balance at the top of the route, get out quickly. He can do some rare things for a player his size. Jim was on the other sideline in one of his better games and so we’ve all seen it. We believe in it. He’s a great kid, he’s a great worker. Everyone here has a high opinion of him. I believe he’s really gonna launch. I really do. His skillset is great, we’re gonna work with him, make him better and better.

Jim Harbaugh also mentioned the Michigan-TCU College Football Playoff semifinal in one of his first conversations with Johnston when he took the job. For 2024, it appears that he has some of the institutional backing of the franchise brain trust as long as he works to improve.

It’s interesting to hear Hortiz describe Johnston as having a degree of “rawness” coming out. He was pegged as a receiver with a lower floor but a higher ceiling relative to the red of his class. That prototypical “size/speed” was always going to get him drafted in the first round. But whether he can develop further past his college self will determine whether that draft slot was worth it.

After adding Ladd McConkey, D.J. Chark, Brenden Rice, and Cornelius Johnson, the motto for the wide receiver room is, as Harbaugh says: “Competitors welcome.” That goes for Johnston as well.

NFL executive heaps praise on Chargers’ Day 3 selections

An NFL executive feels like Joe Hortiz had an all-around great draft.

The Chargers were lauded for their draft selections in the first two days, but their Day 3 selections were just as deserving of praise.

An NFL executive, per The Athletic’s Mike Sando, said that Los Angeles used to draft well in the first round and would then reach in the middle to late rounds, but that didn’t seem to be the case in Joe Hortiz’s first draft.

“Time will tell, but I think (Tarheeb) Still is going to be a good nickel, Cam Hart has a chance to start and the running back (Kimani Vidal) has a chance to be a three-down starter,” the executive said.

At the time of the selection, Still was a head-scratching pick for many fans based on the unfamiliarity. But he is a confident ball magnet, having posted six interceptions last season. He should push for a starting job early on.

Hart was seen as a top-100 pick but took a slide due to injury concerns and limited ball production. Nonetheless, he has elite traits at 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds and has proven to shut down good competition, including Marvin Harrison Jr.

Vidal is a great and productive player with the explosiveness, vision, contact balance, lateral agility, and passing game impact to contribute early on in his pro career.

Where Chargers’ 2024 undrafted free agent class ranks among rest of NFL

Fantasy Pros’ Thor Nystrom isn’t too high on the Chargers’ undrafted free agent class.

The NFL draft is behind us, and most of the talk has been primarily about the nine selections made by general manager Joe Hortiz, while the undrafted free agents that he signed have been swept under the rug a little bit.

The Chargers inked 20 undrafted free agents to a contract after the draft. So how does the haul stack up to the rest of the league?

Fantasy Pros’ Thor Nystrom ranked Los Angeles’ UDFA class, reviewed some of the signees, and then showed how all 32 organizations’ signings compared to one another.

L.A. ranked No. 31, second-worst out of all the teams in the league.

Here is what Nystrom said:

Following a strong draft, the Chargers had a sleepy UDFA process.

HC Jim Harbaugh reunited with Michigan iOL Karsen Barnhart. For the Wolverines, Barnhart got plenty of experience at both guard and tackle. In 2022, he was the starting RT. But for last year’s title team, he was a full-timer with 831, but he ended up making 186 snaps at LT and 194 at RG, with the rest coming at RT. I projected him as an OG, but Barnhart chips in added value as a break-glass-in-case of emergency OT.

FSU S Akeem Dent, at No. 353, was the highest-ranked prospect signed off my pre-draft board. Dent continues the Chargers’ Florida State West bent in the secondary – he’s joining up with former Seminole stars Derwin James and Asante Samuel Jr. If Dent is to make the Week 1 roster, it’s probably through special team work.

TE Zach Heins might be the more intriguing prospect to keep an eye on. Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman load up on tight ends in their 12-personnel, power-run system. Heins is one strong summer away from an NFL job – the opportunity is there.

Despite believing that the Chargers had a solid haul in the draft, Nystrom wasn’t too fond of their undrafted free-agent signings. One of the players he highlighted was safety Akeem Dent, who Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler believes could make the 53-man roster.

Los Angeles has had some success finding diamond-in-the-rough players in the past, so here’s to hoping that trend continues.

4 Chargers ranked among ESPN’s 100 best picks in 2024 NFL draft

The Chargers made some popular picks in the 2024 NFL draft.

If it wasn’t evident that general manager Joe Hortiz and his staff did a fantastic job in the draft, ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller released his post-draft rankings and the Chargers were one of the most profitable teams. 

Miller compiled his rankings of the top 100 picks following the draft. The rankings were based on various criteria, including draft slot compared to pre-draft ranking, scheme fit, what they bring to the field for the team and more.

Los Angeles earned four picks in Miller’s top 50, which tied for the most in that category with the Steelers. 

The Chargers’ highest pick on the list was offensive tackle Joe Alt at No. 14. 

Let’s applaud the Chargers for staying true to the identity of coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz with his selection

Harbaugh wants to dominate the trenches, and Alt was the clear-cut best offensive tackle in the class. Now, will Alt play left tackle with Rashawn Slater on the right side, or vice versa? Time will tell, but the Chargers are now protected long-term.

At No. 25 was wide receiver Ladd McConkey, the team’s second-round pick.

When the Chargers didn’t draft a receiver in the first round, I was a little worried coach Jim Harbaugh would ignore the position until the later rounds. Instead, they drafted one of the toughest route runners in the class in Round 2. McConkey was banged-up at times in college, but he’s sure-handed and boasts 4.39 speed.

Just a few players below his new teammate was No. 28, linebacker Junior Colson, who was selected in the third round. 

One of my favorite players in the class is reunited with his college coach (Jim Harbaugh) while also filling one of the key team needs on this Chargers roster.

Colson will quickly slide into the starting lineup, and it speaks to Harbaugh’s trust in him that he selected his former college ‘backer in the third round. Colson was a player I thought had late-first-round potential, so the value in this pick is elite. He has great range and totaled 101 tackles last season.

Miller was surprised to see how late wide receiver Brenden Rice was selected but highlighted his value at No. 49 on his list. 

The biggest surprise of the draft (after the Michael Penix Jr. selection) was the fall of Rice to the seventh round. His reliable hands, expert-level route running and big frame were enough that I put a Round 3 grade on him as a future starting “big slot” receiver. Rice now enters a Chargers receiver room that did add Ladd McConkey and Cornelius Johnson but is in desperate need of talent at the position. I’m betting he finds his way into the receiver rotation here by his second season.