Should Chargers Already Be Regretting Free Agency Signings?

The Los Angeles Chargers were one of the more notably active teams in NFL free agency this offseason.

Not hard to see why, either: The Chargers started over on offense around Justin Herbert by reloading the depth chart at every position to the liking of new coordinator Mike McDaniel. 

The defense, meanwhile, brought on new coordinator Chris O’Leary and needed to replace departing players like pass-rusher Odafe Oweh. 

With OTAs and minicamp over and ahead of training camp, now is a good time to zoom out and briefly analyze the early returns from those free-agent signings. 

Chargers free agency signing regrets already?

A quick primer on how the Chargers moved through free agency. 

The Chargers signed the following outside players on the open market: 

• DL Dalvin Tomlinson
• C Tyler Biadasz
• FB Alec Ingold
• G Cole Strange
• TE Charlie Kolar
• RB Keaton Mitchell
• OL Kayode Awosika
• TE David Njoku

When it comes to regrets, it’s hard to imagine the Chargers have many so far. 

They certainly don’t regret the addition of Tyler Biadasz, who came over on an affordable contract, at least compared to what the center market did when free agency opened. Anyone is an upgrade over Bradley Bozeman from last year, but Biadasz should be in the top half of the performers at his position across the NFL. 

There’s no reason for the Chargers to feel negatively about smaller McDaniel-minded additions like Ingold, Mitchell and Kolar, either. 

With Mitchell, it’s a high-upside gamble that he can stay healthy. But the Chargers aren’t hurting for help if he flops, considering the presence of Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal on the running back depth chart. 

Kolar is a little iffy, just because the Chargers wound up signing David Njoku in recent months. Nobody is knocking a breakout like Oronde Gadsden from playing time, so Kolar might not be getting the chances as a pass-catching weapon he initially expected when he signed with the Chargers. 

Even a smaller signing like Dalvin Tomlinson made sense at the time with the front seven losing names like Oweh, Da’Shawn Hand and Otito Ogbonnia to various teams in free agency. 

At this point, even Kayode Awosika is apparently a win of a signing since he’s been in the early running for first-team reps at guard in front of Herbert. The Chargers hope second-round pick Jake Slaughter can eventually beat him for the role after learning the position, but the early returns with Awosika seem good.

This will be a topic worth revisiting in training camp and well into the season, of course. The serious possible pain point is at guard, where Awosika and Cole Strange weren’t the most encouraging additions at guard spots that have been serious problems for years in Los Angeles. If the scheme fits can’t help solidify those areas, it might not matter how big of a name is calling the plays for the offense. 

Right now, though? Maybe Chargers fans would have liked a few bigger blockbuster-like moves, but there’s no reason for the team to feel regret about the additions made. 

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