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LA Chargers: Free agent options not named Earl Thomas or Jahleel Addae

By Jason Reed

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Tony Jefferson #23 of the Baltimore Ravens is congratulated by Za’Darius Smith #90 after a fumble recovery in the first quarter during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 30: Tony Jefferson #23 of the Baltimore Ravens is congratulated by Za’Darius Smith #90 after a fumble recovery in the first quarter during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)  – LA Chargers
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)  – LA Chargers /

1. Tony Jefferson

If the LA Chargers do not want one former Baltimore Ravens safety in Earl Thomas then perhaps the team can pursue another former Baltimore Ravens safety in Tony Jefferson. Jefferson was released by the Ravens in February after tearing his ACL and missing most of last season.

Jefferson is naturally a better fit than Thomas as well. While Thomas has the benefit of being familiar with Gus Bradley from their days in Seattle, Jefferson is a legitimate strong safety that could provide depth at the position and even split time with Rayshawn Jenkins.

Jefferson is not anything super special and the team would have to slowly ease him into things as he did miss almost all of last year and is coming off of a really serious injury. With us being so close to the regular season, Jefferson likely would be the third-string strong safety in the first two or so weeks of the year as he gets his footing under him.

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Once he becomes familiar with the Chargers’ defensive system and proves that he is at full speed then he will be a much better option than Gilman to be the backup strong safety and probably will get a decent amount of snaps as the team rotates between him and Jenkins.

What makes Jefferson an exciting option as well is that while he is not fantastic in pass coverage, he is really solid in run defense and in Gus Bradley’s versatile defense could be someone that lines up in the box.

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