Despite having an ample quantity of wage cap house to work with heading into free company, the Los Angeles Chargers haven’t exactly made the impact many thought they might.
Not together with heart Tyler Biadasz, whom they were able to sign simply forward of the authorized tampering interval as the Washington Commanders had already launched him, the Bolts have solely added a handful of exterior free brokers, these being blocking tight finish Charlie Kolar, offensive lineman Cole Strange, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, operating again/return specialist Keaton Mitchell, and fullback Alec Ingold. Not precisely the most high-profile record, proper?
Truth be instructed, versus the gamers the Chargers introduced in, rather more consideration was given to a participant they missed out on, that participant, in fact, being Odafe Oweh, who finally signed a four-year, $100 million deal with the aforementioned Commanders. Oweh clearly wasn’t with Los Angeles lengthy, however he undoubtedly made an impression, tallying 7.5 sacks in a dozen regular-season video games and then setting a franchise playoff report with three sacks and two pressured fumbles in the Bolts’ wild-card loss to the New England Patriots.
But what’s achieved is finished, and Jim Harbaugh now has to hope that hole can be stuffed in the close to future. There are nonetheless some gamers accessible in free company, and the Chargers can clearly additionally go searching for help in subsequent month’s draft. The third possibility is to make a commerce, and one name that might conceivably be made is to the New York Giants, who simply occur to have a brand new head coach in none aside from John Harbaugh, with the goal of that decision being to inquire about the availability of Kayvon Thibodeaux.
A Chargers-Giants commerce for Kayvon Thibodeaux is not the worst concept in the world
NFL Senior Editor Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut just lately compiled a listing of 5 commerce eventualities that might probably play out, and the fourth entry on that record was a deal between the Bolts and Giants that may ship Thibodeaux to Los Angeles, with veteran linebacker Denzel Perryman and a fourth-round decide (No. 123 total) in subsequent month’s draft going to New York.
“The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t re-sign Odafe Oweh because the asking price just got too high,” Johnson wrote. “What Oweh’s success playing opposite Khalil Mack showed is how great of a landing spot this can be for another edge rusher. Acquiring Maxx Crosby is off the table, but Los Angeles absolutely can pull off a trade for another former first-round pick at edge who hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.
“For the New York Giants, this could be round the absolute best return they may get for one season of Kayvon Thibodeaux. Acquiring Denzel Perryman provides New York extra depth at off-ball linebacker and the entrance workplace might discover a position participant with the extra fourth-round decide in the 2026 NFL Draft. This transfer will get Thibodeaux a much-needed change of surroundings, with the Harbaugh brothers serving to each other out.”
It certainly isn’t the worst proposal in the world.
It’s true that Thibodeaux hasn’t exactly lived up to the status of being the fifth overall pick of the 2022 draft, but it’s not as if the Oregon alum has been an absolute bust either. Injuries have forced him to miss a dozen games over the past two years, which obviously isn’t the greatest selling point, but when he was fully healthy and appeared in all 17 regular-season contests in 2023, he racked up 11.5 sacks.
Even if the 25-year-old isn’t at his best getting to the quarterback, he can still help the Chargers against opposing ground attacks, as he’s typically been strong against the run throughout his young career. This past season, while he only appeared in 10 games, his 80.7 run-defense grade ranked seventh among 115 eligible edge defenders.
Thibodeaux is a tad costly, as his fifth-year possibility places his cap quantity at $14.751 million in 2026, however the Chargers can simply afford that in the event that they select to go on this route. Losing some linebacker depth in Perryman would harm, as would giving up a fourth-round decide, however this could be a big gamble value taking.
