After the LA Chargers' season ended prematurely with a playoff loss, much of the fan base has turned its attention to just how this team is going to improve in the coming months. Of course, one of the immediate moves to improve came when the team hired Mike McDaniel as its new offensive coordinator.
But, looking ahead to the NFL Draft and free agency, that's where the real fun begins. All of the player movement is certainly one of the more exciting times of the offseason, and the Chargers enter this year with the third-most cap space in the league.
Yes, as a playoff team, the Chargers will have a plethora of cash to work with. As it stands, Los Angeles is set to have a whopping $80.5 million in cap space before free agency begins.
The scary part? These Chargers could open up an additional $42 million if they really wanted to -- and they wouldn't even have to cut a single player.
The Chargers could make three moves to end up with over $120 million in cap space
If Joe Hortiz wanted to get a little greedy and go all-in on this year's free agency class, there are three specific moves he could make.
The first is by restructuring the contract of Justin Herbert. By doing so and converting some money into bonuses, the Chargers open up an additional $17 million. I think it's safe to say Herbert is going to be around for a little while longer and the team shouldn't have any issue fronting some of that cash.
The second move is to do the same with Rashawn Slater's contract. If Los Angeles restructures Slater's deal, they open up another $12.5 million in cap space.
The tough part about converting some of the money for Slater is the fact he is coming off a season-ending injury. It's hard to imagine a world where he isn't around for years to come, but that's certainly part of the equation.
Finally, the Chargers could opt to extend star safety Derwin James, who is set to enter the last year of his current deal. Before he hits free agency in 2027, LA could give him an extension and save $12.9 million in doing so.
All of that, together, adds up to over $42 million in extra space for Hortiz to work with.
Imagine a playoff team, with a recently-hired All-Star offensive coordinator, having some key positions locked down, including a franchise quarterback and some weapons, being given $122 million extra to work with.
That's a massive number. Talk about going all-in on a Super Bowl during Herbert's prime ... that'd be a heck of a set of moves.