LA Chargers: Guaranteeing Mike Williams’ 5th year was the right decision

There weren’t better options to replace Mike Williams with

Let’s say theoretically that the Chargers did cut Williams yesterday. What would they have done afterward? Well, Telesco might’ve called someone like Kenny Golladay on the free-agent market. Perhaps he would’ve gone after JuJu Smith-Schuster or another premier option to pair with Keenan Allen.

The issue is that those guys would’ve likely brought the Chargers back to the same square one they’re at with Williams. Wide receivers in this market are seeking out high one-year deals to get back into the market in 2022 free agency when the cap goes back up. Hey, I’m starting to think spending $14 or $15 million for one year of a receiver sounds familiar.

Even if the Chargers signed a long-term deal with a top free-agent wideout, that might’ve actually been worse because then you’re accounting for cap hits down the road instead of for one year.

Do the Chargers decide to go wide receiver in the draft to replace Williams in this exercise? Sure, let’s say they draft any one of Ja’Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, or DeVonta Smith in round one. That’s a pick that Telesco is now spending on a first-round wide receiver instead of an offensive lineman, cornerback, or edge because he opened up a hole on the roster by cutting Williams.

Whatever happened to that last first-round receiver he drafted by the way?

Frustration with Williams’ cap hit is understandable, but it wouldn’t have been responsible to replace him this offseason.