Even with ample cap space this offseason, there were several players LA Chargers fans circled as cut candidates for the Bolts. No cut candidate was bigger than Joey Bosa, who was released before NFL free agency. Bosa eventually signed with the Buffalo Bills.
The No. 2 candidate to be cut by the Chargers behind Bosa was none other than offensive lineman, Trey Pipkns. Pipkins did not play like a starting-caliber offensive lineman in 2024 and was presumably going to be replaced. With a $9.25 million cap hit and $6.75 million in created cap space if he was cut, it seemed like just a matter of time before Pipkins was cut.
Pipkins did not meet the same fate as Bosa while the Chargers perused the free-agent guard market. It seemed like a matter of time until the Chargers released Pipkins after the team signed right guard Mekhi Becton.
However, the latest Chargers free agent to sign with another team seems to indicate that Pipkins will stick around at his $9.25 million cap hit. The Washington Commanders signed tackle Foster Sarell on Tuesday and with Sarell's departure, the Chargers need a new swing tackle.
Foster Sarell signing with Commanders guarantees Trey Pipkins' return to the Chargers
While he was far from perfect in the role, Sarell served as the Chargers' swing tackle with Pipkins starting at right guard. The team did experiment with playing Pipkins at left tackle with Jamaree Salyer at right guard when Rashawn Slater missed a short amount of time late in the season but the traditional swing tackle spot was Sarell's.
Sarell's departure creates a need for a swing tackle (a backup tackle who can play either side of the offensive line) while Becton's arrival boots Pipkins out of the starting offensive line. There is no one more qualified on the Chargers roster to be the team's swing tackle, which will likely keep Pipkins around.
Is $9.25 million a lot to spend on someone who won't start? Absolutely. But Jim Harbaugh so clearly values the offensive line and it is hard to imagine him willingly letting a valuable swing tackle go for minimal cap space.
If the Chargers had something to spend that cap space on then sure, it would make all the sense in the world to cut Pipkins. However, we are in the later stages of free agency with no big-ticket options on the market. The Chargers have plenty of cap space to spend on remaining free agents, even with Pipkins on the books.
It might be unconventional to have a backup nearly making as much as the starting right guard but that is the position the Chargers are in. If there was a more cost-effective swing tackle route who was just as qualified as Pipkins then the Bolts would take it.
But that option does not exist. With Sarell's expected departure now a guarantee, Pipkins can sleep easy knowing he won't go anywhere this offseason.