Monday, February 11, 2013
San Diego's free agent decisions
By Tim Kavanagh
It's a trend in the NFL that when a new head coach takes office, there is considerable roster churn over the ensuing seasons. For a team that has both a new HC and GM, this effect is even more pronounced. One club that is going through such a change this offseason is the San Diego Chargers.
Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego reports that the Chargers have very little dead money on their cap, and though they have only around $6.5 million in cap space currently, a lot more can be freed up by parting ways with certain veterans that are not performing up to the level of their contracted value, such as LB Takeo Spikes, DL Antonio Garay, WR Eddie Royal, FB Le'Ron McClain, TE Randy McMichael and OTs Jared Gaither and Jeromey Clary.
Once these decisions are made, the Bolts will look ahead to finding players that can help them in free agency and the draft. A big area of concern is the offensive line, and it would not be surprising to see them look to bolster their front five with both free agents and draft picks. The Chargers must also make a decision on RFA WR Danario Alexander soon, though a report back in December indicated that a first-round tender was likely. Unlike Royal and Robert Meachem -- the big FA signees last offseason -- Alexander outperformed his contract in 2012, so it makes sense to keep him on the roster.
