LA Chargers: The pros and cons of each Monday signing
By Jason Reed
Pros and cons of the LA Chargers signing Matt Feiler:
Pro: Matt Feiler’s contract is of exceptional value
This might be the signing of the offseason by the LA Chargers. Corey Linsley is really good, getting Michael Davis back is huge, but Feiler is such a good value for the team and it is impossible to ignore.
Feiler is only getting paid an AAV of $7 million per season and he is coming off a year in which he allowed fewer pressures than Joe Thuney, who became the highest-paid free-agent guard in NFL history just a few hours earlier.
Feiler does not have the intangibles that Thuney has and Thuney is definitely the better all-around guard, but at the very worst the Chargers got a league-average left guard for only $7 million.
Pro: Matt Feiler’s age
This is another thing I love about the contract. Matt Feiler is still only 28 years old and turns 29 this July. The Chargers signed him to a three-year deal (which is the perfect length) and will hardly be paying him into his 30s, which is a big deal.
Feiler will be under contract through the age of 31 and the team could likely get out of the deal before that age 31 season if really needed.
Con: The LA Chargers trying to use him as a tackle
This is the only thing that scares me about this signing. Matt Feiler has the capability to play tackle at the NFL level and has done so in the past for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His versatility is definitely useful if the Chargers run into any issues in the future.
However, he is not good enough to be a starting tackle and I worry that the Chargers look at the possibility of getting a $7 million tackle and going that route instead. That would then likely lead the team to forego an offensive lineman in round one and draft a guard in round two, which again, would be a mistake.
Next. Ranking potential tight ends to replace Hunter Henry
Feiler’s best year of his career was last season when he only played left guard. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Keep Feiler at left guard and draft a tackle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. There is no need to experiment just in the name of getting a ‘sexier’ first-round pick and a better value at tackle.