A lot of players from the 2020 LA Chargers roster are free agents this offseason. All in all, the Chargers have 16 players that are unrestricted free agents. That is not even counting the players that the team could cut, such as Casey Hayward, Chris Harris and Trai Turner.
Of those 16, there are six players that stand out as the biggest names. Some of these players will return to the LA Chargers, some will find new homes in 2021 as the Chargers pivot in a new direction under Brandon Staley.
The LA Chargers “big six” free agents:
Those six free agents are Tyrod Taylor, Rayshawn Jenkins, Michael Davis, Denzel Perryman, Melvin Ingram and Hunter Henry. Guys like Forrest Lamp, Dan Feeney and Sam Tevi are all interesting as well, but those are the big six.
Those six players are all going to range in price and that will determine who the team brings back and who the team keeps in LA. That is not what we are predicting today, though. Instead, I wanted to give my personal predictions on how much each of the big six will get in free agency.
Last offseason I correctly predicted Bryan Bulaga to get a three-year, $30 million contract from the Bolts. Let’s try and keep up that good work.
Tyrod Taylor: Two years, $9 million ($4.5 million per season)
Tyrod Taylor is not going to be signed anywhere to be a starting quarterback but the former Pro Bowler still falls into the class of really good backup quarterbacks to have and will get paid as such. A $4.5 million salary may not seem like much but that is much more than most teams pay their backup quarterbacks.
I would be surprised if Taylor returns to LA. Anthony Lynn is gone, the situation with the team doctor accidentally puncturing his lung cannot help and the Chargers might not have the salary-cap space to pay a premium price for a backup quarterback.
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I could easily see Taylor getting $10-12 million over a two-year deal, but with the lower salary cap, $4.5 million seems right.