The end of the 2024 season doesn't just represent the end of one year or even the end of someone's tenure on a team. For some, it represents the end of their time playing in the NFL, and that is true for several LA Chargers players.
Whether it be a personal decision or a decision that is made for someone if they no longer warrant an NFL roster spot, there naturally will be players from the 2024 Chargers who never play another snap in the NFL.
Here are our best guesses on who those players could be.
Chargers who may never play another snap in the NFL:
Khalil Mack
Khalil Mack has already flirted with the idea of retirement so there is a world in which NFL fans never get to see him play again. Mack turns 34 in February and has accomplished just about everything a player can accomplish on an individual level in the NFL.
This is a situation where Mack will decide whether or not he plays again. If he wants to give it another go there will be a line of teams looking to sign him for his services, including the Chargers.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz have already made it abundantly clear they want to bring Mack back next season. Whether or not Mack signs with the Chargers depends on which teams are interested and if there is a clearer path to winning a Super Bowl on the table.
The one thing Mack has not done is have any playoff success. In fact, the multiple-time All-Pro has never even won a playoff game. That fact is the lone reason why Mack may play in 2025 and why he could leave the Chargers in free agency.
Hayden Hurst
Hayden Hurst was one of several former Baltimore Ravens Hortiz signed this offseason but he did not pan out like the others. Hurst was meant to be the receiving tight end with Will Dissly serving as the blocking tight end but injuries and poor production kept Hurst from ever being impactful.
The veteran tight end played nine games and finished with eight catches for 73 yards with no touchdowns. Hurst wound up playing just 31% of the team's offensive snaps.
Hurst was already at a point in his career where there were not many suitors for his services and his ties to the Chargers got him another year in the league. With Hurst turning 32 before the start of the 2025 season, it is hard to see any NFL teams lining up to sign him given the lack of production and injury concerns.
Easton Stick
If Easton Stick doesn't re-sign with the Chargers then it is hard to see him signing anywhere else in the NFL. Stick was a free agent last offseason and with a new regime in Los Angeles, it appeared as if the team was finally going to get rid of the below-average backup quarterback.
The Chargers re-signed Stick, though, likely because of his relationship with Justin Herbert. Stick did not justify that decision, turning in a horrendous preseason while Justin Herbert was nursing a foot injury. With Herbert's status for the start of the season unclear, fans were starting to panic about what the Chargers would look like with Stick under center.
It was so bad that the Chargers traded late-round draft capital to bring in Taylor Heinicke. Heinicke, who is also a free agent, served as the backup quarterback with Stick always being a gameday inactive as the emergency QB.
Stick's relationship with Herbert is the only thing that may keep him in the NFL. He hasn't played well enough to get an NFL contract and any other team in the league is going to value a more proven backup quarterback or a cheaper option via the draft.