LA Chargers: Why Desmond King shouldn’t be re-signed
3. The LA Chargers’ addition of Chris Harris
Harris, a longtime rival, joined forces with the LA Chargers in the offseason. A two-year deal will keep him with the Chargers until 2022, at which point the team will see where they’re at. After he signed, Harris was quoted as saying the Chargers “came out of nowhere” to sign him over teams like the Eagles, Raiders, and Saints.
One of the reasons the Chargers came out of nowhere had to be the decline of King. If King had played at his 2018 levels, it wouldn’t make sense to sign a slot corner. Some thought when Harris was first signed that he’d be playing CB2, which was what he did in Denver in 2019.
The coaches’ pitch to the former Bronco was playing slot full time though, which contradicted that train of thought.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that Harris and King can’t coexist. They absolutely can for 2020. Harris will play slot while King plays another role, such as dimebacker or wild card playmaker.
Could they afford both? Theoretically, it’s possible. But, it becomes much less likely in reality when you consider that the team also has to pay Allen, Melvin Ingram, and potentially Hunter Henry. With Harris in the fold, King honestly isn’t a top three free-agent priority, even with Bosa out of that picture.
The Chargers could afford King, but if Harris is eating at his snap count, I just question what the real value would be at that point if you’re paying potentially up to $10 million per year.