Mekhi Becton has been the biggest disappointment on the LA Chargers this season. He hasn't been the worst player to don the powder blue this year, but as the biggest signing of an offseason with plenty of cap space, his struggles have been amplified.
For many, Becton's fall from grace has been a surprise. His durability concerns shouldn't be, as that is what defined his four-year tenure with the New York Jets. But after such a successful season transitioning to right guard with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, the on-the-field struggles come as a surprise.
Maybe this is something Chargers fans should have seen coming all along. In fact, the team subtly tried warning fans about not blindly buying in on Becton being a sure-fire offensive line savior. Just look at his contract. The Chargers built in an out right in front of our very own eyes.
Mekhi Becton will carry cap hits of $7.3 and $12.5 mil across his two year contract. The Chargers have an out after the season that would save $10 mil against the 2026 cap. Becton is due a $2.5 mil roster bonus if he is still on the team on the third day of the new league year. pic.twitter.com/SNHbUTrXj8
— Guilty As Charged Podcast (@GACPodcast17) March 26, 2025
Chargers tried to warn us about Mekhi Becton with his contract
It's common for NFL teams to frontload contracts to give themselves more financial flexibility down the line if a player regresses or gets hurt. It's not that common for someone who signed a two-year deal at 26 years old.
If the Chargers were confident in Becton, they wouldn't have felt the need to bake in a $10 million out in the second year of his deal, via Over The Cap. The Chargers clearly weren't completely sold on Becton being a home run, and this was the smoking gun all along.
Now, there are two different ways to interpret this contract maneuver by the Bolts. You can look at it favorably and applaud the Chargers for making it easy on themselves to pivot and get out of Becton's contract this offseason. Based on how he's played this year, that seems like the likely path the Bolts take.
On the flip side, this makes the Chargers' offensive line decisions even worse in hindsight. Los Angeles banked too heavily on the star tackle duo and used that as an excuse to not address the interior offensive line as much as they should have.
Even with that same star duo, the Chargers were limited in the playoffs last year because the center and guard positions were so outmatched by the Houston Texans. Despite that concerning display, the Bolts decided to run it back with Zion Johnson and Bradley Bozeman.
Johnson has actually been serviceable this season. Bozeman has somehow gotten worse when he was already one of the worst starting centers in the NFL last season.
Becton was the only addition the team made. But now that we look back on his deal with this context, it looks even more damning that the only offensive line addition was someone who the team had little long-term faith in. How is that prioritizing Justin Herbert's protection?
Granted, no team could have prepared for the injuries that struck the Chargers' tackles this season. That was always going to be a massive hurdle to overcome.
However, with players the team actually trusts on the interior, perhaps the Chargers could have slowed down the bleeding.