Chargers fans went into NFL free agency expecting the team to make noise with league-leading cap space. Most fans reasonably knew not to expect deals near the top of the market, but there was an expectation that the Chargers would bring in several impact guys at a reasonable price.
There are some exciting additions, to be fair. But when your best addition with $100 million thus far is Tyler Biadasz or Charlie Kolar, you're not necessarily lighting the world on fire. The Chargers had a chance to remedy this on day two of the legal tampering window but it doesn't appear that general manager Joe Hortiz is going to budge at all.
The first reported deal of Tuesday was just as boring as those announced before it: the Chargers reportedly agreed to terms with cornerback Deane Leonard on a one-year, $2 million deal, per Tom Pelissero. Yup, a near-league-minimum contract for someone who is only really going to play on special teams. That's the first headline of the day.
Chargers' Deane Leonard signing is fine, but unexciting
Bringing Leonard back on a two-year deal that has relatively no big impact on the cap situation, whether or not he makes the 53-man roster, isn't a bad idea. Leonard was a quality player on special teams for the Chargers last season and it's worth paying $2 million to have that consistency.
This is by no means an indictment of the signing itself. The Chargers are a better football team, albeit marginally, with Leonard on the roster than without him on the roster. The disappointment stems from the offseason at large.
It's just been wildly unexciting for a Chargers team that had every reason to make it exciting early on in free agency. The Chargers have the cap space and they have the reason to go all in for the 2026 season. Jim Harbaugh isn't getting any younger, the foundation of Jesse Minter's defense is still in place, and this might be the only season you get with Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator.
That's not to say the Chargers should have gotten irresponsible and spent at the top of every market and blown the budget on five players. That is a roster-building strategy that does not work. But there are a lot of quality players available at that mid-tier price point that the Chargers don't seem to have any interest in.
Instead, their signing deals with the likes of Leonard and Trevor Penning. Giving Cole Strange $9 million guaranteed across two seasons to potentially start in what would be the worst decision imaginable. Moves that just don't move the needle in any way.
I'd like to believe it will be different and the Chargers will come over the top with several impact signings, but it's hard given the track record to expect that at this point. Hortiz has shown fans exactly who he is throughout three offseasons now. Maybe it's just time to accept that a $10 million AAV is the most he will give an external free agent.
Above all else, I want Hortiz and the Chargers to prove me wrong. Come back to this article and tell me how poorly it aged. No offense to Leonard, but he shouldn't be the first signing we are covering on the second day of the legal tampering window for a team that entered free agency with $100 million in cap space.