LA Chargers: 3 reasons why the Bolts shouldn’t be done in free agency
By Jason Reed
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports – LA Chargers
2. The LA Chargers still have cap space to spend
According to Over The Cap, the LA Chargers still have just under $20 million in salary-cap space heading into the 2021 season. In reality, the number will be lower than that with the team still needing to sign Rashawn Slater to his rookie contract but they definitely have enough cap space to spend in free agency.
Any unused cap space does roll over to next offseason but quite frankly, I would rather see the team spend the cap space this offseason. They will have more money to spend next offseason, sure, but the contracts they sign next offseason will undoubtedly intersect with when they need to pay Justin Herbert.
Of course, the cap will go up and other players will no longer be under contract by then, but with the timing of Herbert’s rookie deal and likely extension, there could be a hard money situation with whoever they sign next offseason.
Plus, they have plenty of money to spend next offseason already. Mike Williams won’t be making $15 million and they will still have plenty of space to spend on who they need. Rolling over an extra $10 million in cap is not going to make a massive difference, especially if they spend at this point in the offseason and only rollover $5 million.
Getting a great quarterback on a rookie deal is the greatest blessing you can have in the NFL and the Chargers are not utilizing it to the full extent. They did not want to pay Hunter Henry on a three-year deal, yet still have the space to sign him to the same contract that New England did.
Nobody at this point in the offseason is going to completely change the direction of the Chargers but they definitely can add complementary pieces and do so comfortably.