The Los Angeles Chargers appear to have replaced Joey Bosa fairly well after former top draft pick Tuli Tuipulotu managed to break out in his third season, but Jesse Minter could stand to bring in one more defensive tackle to give this defense an even more well-rounded plan of attack.
LA has been leaning on rookie nose tackle Jamaree Caldwell and a host of backups to beef up the interior, which may have prompted the front office to spend big on a player like Baltimore Ravens space eater Travis Jones to rectify their issues.
Unfortunately, the Ravens took one of the best names off the board. Defensive tackle Travis Jones would have looked perfect in powder blue, but he has now signed a three-year, $40 million contract extension with Baltimore that officially takes him out of LA's grasp.
Not only did Joe Hortiz miss out on the chance to add yet another former Raven to his team, but he now needs to turn to a fairly thin free agent market and underwhelming NFL Draft in order to get his defensive line the reinforcements they need in 2026 and beyond.
Chargers miss on chance to sign Travis Jones after Ravens extend DT
Jones ranks as PFF's 14th-best defensive tackle, and he ranks in sixth place in run defense. The former UConn product took a while to get going, but he has finally arrived under new DC Zach Orr. With Nnamdi Madubuike nursing a serious neck injury, Jones became an even more important part of this defense.
The free agent defensive tackle class consists of some thoroughly average players like DJ Reader and David Onyemata at the top of this class, neither of whom are likely going to make much of an impact on the overall defensive line room. The NFL Draft may not be overly fruitful either.
The Chargers are going to be far too successful to land an instant impact player like Clemson's Peter Woods. If LA is scared away by Florida's Caleb Banks due to his injury history, there's a good chance the Chargers may not address their struggles up front until the end of the second round.
Jones would have brought familiarity with both the Harbaugh family and Hortiz and tremendous run-stuffing ability to the picture, but anyone who has already made edited photos of him with a lightning bolt on the side of his helmet may need to delete those projects after he signed with Baltimore.