{"id":89882,"date":"2020-06-10T21:08:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T01:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=89882"},"modified":"2020-06-10T21:09:06","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T01:09:06","slug":"los-angeles-chargers-free-agency-conundrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/06\/10\/los-angeles-chargers-free-agency-conundrum\/","title":{"rendered":"The Upcoming Possible Los Angeles Chargers Free Agency Conundrum"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> are on paper a pretty stacked team, outside of the quarterback position \u2013 particularly on the defensive side of the football. Aside from maybe linebacker, there aren\u2019t really any question marks \u2013 at least not in terms of if there\u2019s anybody talented enough. However, they\u2019re about to contend with a lot of expiring contracts of star players. Depending on just how much they lose, the losses may prove to be a problem.<\/p>\n

The 2021 Los Angeles Chargers Free Agency Conundrum<\/h2>\n

Contracts Ending<\/h3>\n

Here are some of the bigger-name players whose contracts are going to be ending in 2021: Keenan Allen<\/strong><\/a>, Hunter Henry<\/a><\/strong> (franchise tagged this past off-season), Joey Bosa<\/a><\/strong>, Melvin Ingram<\/strong><\/a>, Mike Pouncey<\/strong><\/a>, Denzel Perryman<\/strong><\/a>, Desmond King<\/a><\/strong>, and Rayshawn Jenkins<\/a><\/strong>. That\u2019s a lot, including two of their biggest weapons and both sides of their fearsome pass-rushing duo.<\/p>\n

And then if you take it a year further to 2022, it doesn\u2019t get any easier as Casey Hayward<\/strong><\/a>, Mike Williams<\/strong><\/a>, Derwin James<\/strong><\/a>, and some of this past off-season\u2019s free agency additions will have their contracts up too. Quite simply, the Chargers are probably going to have some tough decisions to make. Even if it wasn\u2019t nigh impossible to keep every single one of those players, the Chargers are simply not an organization known for spending heavy amounts of money, or for handing out mega-contracts.<\/p>\n

Who Can (And Who Should) Be Kept?<\/h3>\n

2022 is two years off, so we\u2019re not going to look that far ahead for now. A lot can happen between now and then. For 2021, the highest priorities should be Keenan Allen and Joey Bosa. Bosa in particular already had a contract squabble with the Chargers just for his rookie deal. A franchise tag may be required to attempt to work something out there and still get one more year. But ultimately, it seems unlikely that both Bosa and Ingram will be staying \u2013 unless Ingram takes a more team-friendly contract (which didn\u2019t happen last time he got a new contract).<\/p>\n

Keeping Allen is a little less worrisome. His extension back in 2016 was four years for $45 million. On a per-year basis, that already has him among the top 20 highest-paid receivers as of right now. Even with a price hike to the neighborhood of $15-17 million, it doesn\u2019t seem out of the question for the Chargers to be able to pay him what he wants \u2013 unless he demands something in the neighborhood of $20 million a year.<\/p>\n

After that, Pouncey should be the next priority to keep the center position stable \u2013 unless he struggles with staying healthy again like in 2019. Henry\u2019s a high priority too. Hopefully, the team will be able to work out a long-term deal this season with him while he\u2019s on the franchise tag. Perryman and King may both end up being a lower priority; with the addition of Chris Harris<\/strong><\/a>, King has become more expendable. Perryman being a team\/fan favorite may help, but with his injury problems and the linebacker corps being revamped by the likes of Kenneth Murray<\/strong> and Drue Tranquill<\/strong><\/a>, he might end up being on the way out during an off-season where the likes of Allen, Bosa, and Ingram are all up for grabs.<\/p>\n

Last Word on Chargers Free Agency<\/h3>\n

Ultimately, keeping Allen feels like the surest thing among the high-priority 2021 free agents, barring high demands from him. The likelihood of keeping both Ingram and Bosa seems rather low. The Chargers are unlikely to hand out big contracts to both of them in the off-season. It is possible, though, that whoever doesn\u2019t get inked gets the franchise tag instead.<\/p>\n

Henry will hopefully get inked before next off-season. But if that doesn\u2019t happen, he may end up walking as he may be expecting a bigger deal and he just won\u2019t be as high a priority for the Chargers as their top receiver or their pass-rusher duo. Beyond that, don\u2019t expect to see Desmond King returning \u2013 and possibly Denzel Perryman as well. Whether Pouncey returns may depend on him staying healthy.<\/p>\n

Of course, we must keep in mind that if any of those few top-tier players\u2019 demands get too high for management\u2019s liking (read: anything above $20 million a year for a non-quarterback, or anything record-breaking for any position), then they probably won\u2019t be coming back. But hopefully, such instances will be limited over these next two off-seasons. If they lose enough significant players, it may be difficult to come back from in the short term. Regardless, the 2021 and 2022 Chargers free agency periods are likely to be interesting.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>