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Here are predictions for what the Chargers might do with each player in their 2024 free agent class.
As free agency approaches, the Chargers are projected to be $44 million over the salary cap.
General manager Joe Hortiz will have some decisions to make regarding their internal pending free agents.
Ahead of the free agency frenzy, here are my predictions for what Los Angeles might do with each player in their 2024 free agent class.
Evaluating the Chargers’ running back room entering the offseason.
After a brief offseason contract dispute with the team, Austin Ekeler remained with the team in 2023. His production, unfortunately, was not at the level of what he had produced in previous seasons. After a great performance against Miami in Week 1, Ekeler lost a step following an ankle injury that held him out until mid-October.
After returning against the Cowboys, Ekeler had just a hair over 500 yards on 163 carries for the rest of the season. He averaged 3.13 yards per rushing attempt in that span while simultaneously not having the same type of receiving production from previous seasons. In a contract year where Ekeler effectively bet on himself, it probably wasn’t what he wanted entering free agency.
The rest of the running back room didn’t carry their weight. Joshua Kelley had just 100 yards on 36 carries in the season’s last ten games. Isaiah Spiller had several healthy scratches and finished his second NFL season, averaging 2.6 yards per attempt.
Now, of course, the Chargers’ run scheme didn’t fail entirely because of the running backs themselves. The offensive line was pretty subpar at blocking, and Kellen Moore, unfortunately, couldn’t integrate his rushing attack like he did in Dallas. But Ekeler is approaching free agency as he will enter his age 29 season. And unlike when Melvin Gordon departed, the Chargers don’t have a solid answer or replacement on the roster.
In continuing our offseason position preview series, let’s turn to the running back room entering the offseason.
Joshua Kelly, former UCLA and current Chargers RB, spoke highly of DeShaun Foster.
Former UCLA and current Los Angeles Chargers running back Joshua Kelley was one of a handful of alumni at DeShaun Foster’s introductory press conference on Tuesday.
Foster replaced Chip Kelly, who left for the Ohio State OC job, and Foster’s hire was met with satisfaction by many people.
Kelley was coached by Foster during his UCLA playing days, and the Chargers RB spoke very highly of Foster as the new head coach, per Joseph Crosby of The Daily Bruin:
“It’s fired me up because I feel like as a UCLA alum, they got it right. They got a coach who went here, who played in the league, who has the ultimate credibility. You see that’s the trend across the coaching landscape now. So I feel like they got it right, man. He knows LA, he knows his market, he knows how to recruit. That’s going to be big.”
Foster played running back at UCLA, coached the running back group for the past seven years, and has experience playing in the NFL, so there is a lot to like about him being the next head coach.
But, Joshua Kelley, an NFL running back, speaking highly of Foster is a massive vote of confidence for the first-time head coach.
Taking a look at the Chargers’ final stat leaders from the 2023 regular season.
All attention has been shifted to what the offseason, but it’s still appropriate to reflect on this past season for the Chargers.
Here are the final stat leaders from the 2023 regular season.
It’s time for the Chargers to figure out what they want to do with the bed they’ve made.
The Chargers’ postseason hopes took brutal hits on Sunday with a loss to the Broncos and what appeared to be a season-ending finger injury for Justin Herbert. It’s been time to wave the white flag on the 2023 campaign for a while, but Sunday’s events clarified that.
From a personnel standpoint, the Chargers must see which pieces they can count on going forward. In a world where the results of the games don’t matter from a win-loss standpoint, it’s time to see what the younger players on the roster can do.
Pivot to Joshua Kelley and Isaiah Spiller carries. Build on Quentin Johnston’s first 90+ yard game for next year. There’s more than just those, but it would be a start. Given their contractual situations, Eric Kendricks and Kenneth Murray appear rather unlikely to be back with the Chargers next year. At this point, give Daiyan Henley or Nick Niemann snaps.
On a macro level, the Chargers have to start constructing their plan for 2024. Given the media reporting, it seems pretty sure that the macro decision on retaining Brandon Staley has already been made. Without a playoff birth this year, he will not be back. But what is to be made of GM Tom Telesco, a much less publicly forward-facing figure? Will he get to hire a fourth head coach? Or do the Chargers truly clean house?
For the rest of the season, keeping the Chargers’ coaching staff in place makes sense. Now that Easton Stick is likely the starter for the remaining four games, you may as well save some semblance of structure around him. Keep in mind that the Chargers will play against Las Vegas on Thursday Night Football this week. Short-week firings seem rather unlikely.
Another team-building aspect that LA will have to decide soon is which restructured vets return. It’s hard to remember sometimes how terribly the year has gone, but the Chargers did go all in for 2023 with four max restructures. Keenan Allen is probably a pretty safe candidate to return. But what will the Bolts do after Joey Bosa and Mike Williams suffered what amounted to season-ending injuries this year? Will Khalil Mack want to return after contemplating retirement after the 2022 season?
There’s a month left of the regular season and the Chargers should use it wisely to determine their future. While LA is not formally eliminated from playoff contention, it’s time to pull the plug. Frankly, it’s been time. This roster has looked uninspired, beat down, and pushed around all year. There’s no reason to force Herbert and other key players back out there.
I would say pivoting toward tanking for a premium draft pick should be an objective, but it doesn’t seem like the Chargers will need help doing that. Stick will start three divisional matchups and have to face Josh Allen’s Bills. They were losing with Herbert, and I’m sure they’ll find ways to lose without him. It probably will be easier.
It’s time to stick a fork in the 2023 Chargers. Frankly, it’s time to stick a fork in the “All In” contending era under Telesco and Staley. This team is all but out of everything. In a wide-open AFC, LA’s organizational incompetence and hubris dug them a hole too big to climb out of. Now it’s time to figure out what they want to do with the bed they’ve made.
To recap the Chargers’ win over the Jets, here is everything you need to know.
The Chargers are leaving East Rutherford, NJ with a win after defeating the Jets on Monday night.
To recap Los Angeles’ 27-6 victory, here is everything to know.
Before moving on to the Bears, here’s who stood out and fell flat in the Chargers’ loss to the Chiefs.
The Chargers took their second straight loss out of the bye week to fall to 2-4 after they let a potential win over the Chiefs slip away again. For most of the game, they were within one possession. They went scoreless in the second half.
The loss turns Sunday Night Football’s primetime matchup at home vs. Chicago into a must-win situation for LA. But before diving into that one, let’s talk about who stood out in the Chiefs game.
By any metric, Joshua Palmer had the best game of his career on Sunday. Five receptions for 133 yards with multiple explosive plays is undoubtedly something not many were expecting. But in the last two weeks since the BYE, Palmer has looked much more comfortable in the WR2 role than in the immediate absence of Mike Williams.
Palmer posted the highest yards per route run and PFF offensive grade of his career. After having 160 yards in his first four games, he has 193 yards in his last two. The routes look crisper, and Palmer looks more confident going up for balls near the boundary in a Williams-esque way.
He and Keenan Allen are now Justin Herbert’s two most trusted targets, aside from Austin Ekeler.
It’s impossible to talk about the Kansas City game without discussing the defensive game plan in the first half. Travis Kelce went for over 100 yards in the first two quarters as the Chargers sat in soft zone for most of the first half. Michael Davis and Derwin James both acknowledged that it was what the Chargers intended to do coming into the game.
The Chargers experienced many of the same problems they did against Dallas. Michael Davis was dropped so far back that receivers ran simple out routes or curls for easy first downs. The entire first half was effectively Kelce running to the spot and turning around.
Two things made the initial game plan particularly frustrating. In Brandon Staley’s lone win against the Chiefs in 2021, he ran man coverage 67% of the time per TruMedia. All of Staley’s other successful games generally had them hover at or about 50%. The Chargers’ most successful plays in this game, including Asante Samuel Jr.’s interception and several of their 3rd down stops in the second half, came from playing more physical pressing coverage at the line.
Staley acknowledged that while the team adjusted better in the second half, the “damage” was done in the first. Even the second half still had oddities, including a 3rd and 15 conversion where Patrick Mahomes picked up a conversion with his legs because the defense played prevent.
Dealing with an ankle injury, Rashawn Slater was not his usual self in the last two games. He led the team in individual pressures allowed in each contest with ten combined pressures.
Against Kansas City, it was back to business as usual. Slater allowed just two pressures with a higher pass-blocking efficiency score. He was critical in pinning defender Michael Danna on the outside to spring Joshua Kelley’s 49-yard sprint to the end zone.
Slater being back to his standard form would be a big win for an offensive line that is reeling.
Ultimately, Staley’s defensive game plan in the first half is tied to how any performance in the secondary is viewed. That being said, Derwin James was expected to be the main guy responsible for Kelce. The ankle injury likely played a part in things, but James didn’t seem quite like his usual aggressive self until late in the game.
The Chargers’ safety allowed his highest NFL passer rating of the season when Patrick Mahomes targeted him. His PFF coverage grade was his lowest of the season.
75 yards on seven carries with a long touchdown sprint was a good bounce-back game for Kelley. The former UCLA product had just 79 yards in his last three games. His pace from the season’s first two weeks had slowed. If he can return to the complementary back production seen with Austin Ekeler in Week 1, the Chargers will be in a good position from now on.
Justin Herbert led the offense well in the first half, but the second half was unusually poor form from him. The Chargers’ quarterback threw two interceptions while completing 43% of his passes. Herbert threw for his lowest passer rating of the season.
The offensive line certainly did have an impact, as Herbert is still getting pressured at a decent clip over the last month. It’s also hard not to think the broken finger is causing him some discomfort still. The Chargers’ quarterback mentioned that his splint was ripped off midgame and had to be put back on.
Going against Mahomes, Herbert had to be dialed in at a higher level than he was. Staring down his targets has become an issue in recent weeks and some batted balls at the line, a similar issue he had in 2022.
Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ highest and lowest-graded Chargers players from the loss to the Chiefs.
In Week 7, the Chargers fell short to the Chiefs, 31-17.
Outcome aside, there were some standout performers and others that were duds.
With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.
Note: To be more accurate, this is based on players who played at least 35% of the snaps on offense (63) or defense (68).
WR Joshua Palmer – 87.8
RB Joshua Kelley – 75.6
OT Rashawn Slater – 75.2
OL Jamaree Salyer – 70.9
QB Justin Herbert – 70.6
LB Eric Kendricks – 81.9
EDGE Joey Bosa – 77.1
EDGE Khalil Mack – 71.5
DT Nick Williams – 67.8
S Dean Marlowe – 67.3
TE Donald Parham – 58.4
OT Trey Pipkins – 58.2
TE Stone Smartt – 56.6
C Will Clapp – 54.1
OL Zion Johnson – 45.8
CB Asante Samuel Jr. – 58.3
S Derwin James – 50.9
DT Sebastian Joseph-Day – 46.0
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu – 45.0
DT Austin Johnson – 42.7
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Chargers’ 31-17 loss to the Chiefs.
The Chargers fell to the Chiefs, 31-17, which dropped their record to 2-4.
To recap, here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Los Angeles’ loss to Kansas City:
WR Joshua Palmer: The Chargers needed someone to step up with Mike Williams out for the remainder of the season, and Palmer has been that guy. Palmer set a career-high in receiving yards (133) on five catches, with nearly half being made up from the big 60-yard reception he had in the first half to set up the second touchdown of the game. What’s encouraging is that Palmer has flourished in the deep parts of the field, which the team has been lacking since Williams’ absence.
RB Joshua Kelley: After the Chiefs got on the scoreboard first, the Chargers responded with Kelley’s 49-yard rushing touchdown. It marked the longest run of his professional career. On the day, Kelley had seven carries for 75 yards. This was encouraging, considering the rushing offense struggled to get anything going on the ground since Week 1.
Run defense: The Chargers limited Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco to just 32 yards on 13 carries (2.5 yards per rush). Los Angeles’ defense against the run finished near the bottom of the barrel last season and now it’s close to being a top-10 unit.
P JK Scott: Scott hadn’t been at his best the first few games of the season after a remarkable campaign last year. But he flipped the switch and put together what may be one of his best performances in a Chargers uniform. Scott had three punts inside the Chiefs’ 10-yard line, with one that skyrocketed 65 yards in the air and was downed at Kansas City’s three-yard line.
Offensive line: Like last week in the loss to the Cowboys, the offensive line crumbled, gave Justin Herbert no time to throw early on and as a result, he looked uncomfortable throughout the remainder of the game. In total, the Chiefs sacked Herbert five times and the final sack came from former Chargers linebacker Drue Tranquill. The Chargers miss Corey Linsley dearly.
QB Justin Herbert: The protection woes negatively impacted Herbert’s play, yes. But it would not be accurate to say that’s why he solely struggled on Sunday. As I’ve seen in the past few performances from Herbert, he continued to stare down receivers, struggled to anticipate them getting open, gave defensive backs time to make plays on the ball and missed throws that would usually be routine. The injured middle finger on his non-throwing hand can be attributed to it, but not that much because these issues have seemed to be mental and it’s getting to the point where you have to wonder if it’s the coaching because we have not seen Herbert play like this since entering the league.
First-half defense: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce put together what would typically be end-of-the-game stat lines in just the first half. Mahomes threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns, while Kelce caught all nine of his targets for 143 yards and a score in the first two quarters. The Chargers lived in zone coverage for most of the first half and Mahomes and Kelce made them pay. Mahomes threw for 103 yards and Kelce had just three catches for 36 yards in the second half of the game because they made adjustments and played more man coverage. The fact that this wasn’t the game plan all along is head-scratching.
Second-half offense: The Chargers kept it close with the Chiefs in the first half, despite surrendering 24 points. With how the offense was playing, you would’ve thought that Los Angeles had a chance. That was not the case, however. After Herbert threw his first interception, the offense fell flat, going three and out on three consecutive drives. After their opening possession in the second half, they didn’t get a first down until the final three minutes of the game. A garbage-time touchdown would’ve provided some life, but it resulted in Herbert’s second interception. L.A. has gone scoreless in the second half in two of their last three games. This is a major issue, considering Kellen Moore was brought in to elevate this offense.
The Chargers run game is back.
The Chargers run game is back.
After an outburst on the ground in Week 1, Los Angeles had struggled to get anything going this season, whether it was Joshua Kelley or Austin Ekeler in the backfield. Against a solid Chiefs run defense, it seemed like Sunday would be more of the same.
Nope.
With a first and ten just over midfield, Justin Herbert handed the ball off to Kelley on an awkward exchange necessitated by Herbert’s broken finger. Kelley made one cut into a hole carved out by Rashawn Slater and Gerald Everett and then outran the rest of the defense for the Chargers’ first explosive run play in a month.
The run also tied the game 10-10.
look at that man go
📺: @nfloncbs pic.twitter.com/FGh0fZeG1O
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 22, 2023
