Are the Chargers going to spend?<\/strong><\/p>\nLast offseason, the Chargers sat on a pile of money. They were coming off a one-and-done playoff appearance. General manager Joe Hortiz elected not to spend aggressively, instead giving running back Najee Harris, corner Ben St-Juste and receiver Keenan Allen one-year deals, while signing guard Mekhi Becton and corner Donte Jackson to two-year contracts. None were worth more than $20 million total.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fast forward to the present, and there\u2019s a thought that the Chargers can\u2019t be so frugal again. Los Angeles ranks fourth in approximate cap space at $81.8 million, making it one of only two playoff teams with more than $50 million in cap space.<\/p>\n
\u200bWhile Los Angeles has rarely been a big spender in free agency, it may be time to push a bit. The Chargers are betting favorites to win the AFC West, but they face serious competition from the 14-win Broncos and the Chiefs, who are revamping. They also have a star quarterback, Justin Herbert, entering his age-28 season, who is still without a playoff win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hortiz would be smart to think about re-signing Odafe Oweh to a long-term deal as a replacement for Khalil Mack, who is slated for free agency. Oweh, 27, had 10 sacks in 2024 and then 7.5 sacks in 12 games for the Chargers in \u201925. While Hortiz said he\u2019s unlikely to use the franchise tag on Oweh, losing him would be disastrous. If he gets to the open market, he could command the biggest deal for an edge rusher alongside the Bengals\u2019 Trey Hendrickson.<\/p>\n
But Hortiz should also be looking to add a playmaker at receiver opposite Ladd McConkey, along with interior offensive line help. To that point, Hortiz was in Baltimore\u2019s front office when it drafted Linderbaum in 2022, making that a connection to watch in the coming days, especially after the retirement of Bradley Bozeman.<\/p>\n
Finally, there are looming extensions for defensive back Derwin James Jr. and edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, who each have one year remaining on their respective deals. Time is on Hortiz\u2019s side here, but both are priorities.<\/p>\n
Malik Willis to the Cardinals makes too much sense<\/strong><\/p>\nPerhaps no name is hotter than Willis\u2019s, who stands to be the most intriguing quarterback on this year\u2019s market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Willis, 26, has started three games over the past two years, throwing 89 passes. The Titans selected him in the third round in 2022, before he flamed out, throwing zero touchdowns and three interceptions, and was dealt to the Packers. In Green Bay, he seemingly blossomed under coach Matt LaFleur as a backup to Jordan Love, completing 78.7% of his 89 attempts, while averaging 10.9 yards per attempt.<\/p>\n
Going into free agency, the Browns, Jets, Dolphins and Cardinals all need quarterbacks, with Arizona and Miami open to trading Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa, respectively. The Vikings also need competition for J.J. McCarthy, although a more proven veteran option might be the play for Minnesota.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the Cardinals can move Murray on his palatable deal of three years and $76 million with no guarantees remaining, the connecting dots are all there. General manager Monti Ossenfort worked in Tennessee\u2019s front office when the Titans drafted Willis. New coach Mike LaFleur is the younger brother of Matt, who has coached Willis for the past two seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Willis would have the best situation in Arizona. The Cardinals have 1,000-yard weapons in tight end Trey McBride and receiver Michael Wilson. They also employ 2024 first-round receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who, despite his periodic struggles, has 1,493 yards and 12 touchdowns over his first two seasons. With the No. 3 pick, Arizona could also beef up the offensive line with a tackle such as Francis Mauigoa or Spencer Fano.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Willis will have multiple suitors, none make more sense than the Cardinals.<\/p>\n
Chiefs\u2019 top priority this offseason is finding a real run game<\/strong><\/p>\nSpeaking to sources dating back to December, the Chiefs have been fixated on drastically improving their run game for 2026 by finding more explosiveness. On Tuesday, general manager Brett Veach reiterated that stance in his presser.<\/p>\n
How dire is the need? Last season, the Chiefs had three runs of over 20 yards. Two were by Patrick Mahomes and the other was from Xavier Worthy.<\/p>\n
However, with the Cowboys re-signing Javonte Williams<\/a> and the Jets proclaiming that Breece Hall will either be signed or tagged, free-agent options are already dwindling for Kansas City. If the Chiefs are going to make a high-priced splash, their best bet is Travis Etienne Jr., who notched three 1,000-yard seasons with the Jaguars on his rookie deal, while catching 168 passes. At 27 years old, he and Kenneth Walker III are the top free-agent options.<\/p>\nIf Etienne signs elsewhere, and Walker ends up back with the Seahawks, as many expect, Veach may need to pivot by signing a second-tier option, such as Tyler Allgeier or Kenneth Gainwell before focusing on Notre Dame superstar Jeremiyah Love with the No. 9 pick. The problem? There\u2019s no guarantee Love will be available at that spot, especially with the class being so weak at running back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, the Chiefs have other pressing needs at edge rusher and receiver. Ideally, they could sign Etienne and then use their first-rounder on one of those other areas, but Kansas City might have little choice. It\u2019s a tricky spot for the Chiefs, who are still searching for their first 1,000-yard back since Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018.<\/p>\n
More NFL on Sports Illustrated<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Free agency doesn\u2019t begin on March 9 with the legal tampering period. It begins in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":618449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[39],"tags":[1232,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-618448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116139189044824294","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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