The Mekhi Becton experience lasted just one season. After a disappointing first season on the West Coast, the LA Chargers are reportedly releasing Mekhi Becton in the coming days, per NFL insider Jeremy Fowler.
The move frees up $9.7 million in cap space for a Chargers team that was already projected to have $85 million in total space. It also deepens the need on the interior offensive line. As it stands right now, the Chargers don't have a single starter on the interior under contract.
That will change in NFL free agency and will probably change with the money the Chargers are saving by releasing Becton. The most likely outcome here is that the Chargers will simply reshuffle the Becton money to someone else on the offensive line, and there's a pretty clear recipient waiting.
Chargers ' most likely use of Mekhi Becton money is to re-sign Zion Johnson
And with that, you can hear the collective air let out of the tire of all the readers who thought we were going to promise something more exciting. Sometimes, the most mundane moves are the most responsbile and for the Chargers, re-signing Johnson with this money is the way to go.
That's not to say that the Chargers won't make a bigger addition with the rest of the funds the team has this offseason. But from a pure accounting perspective, it makes sense that the Chargers will essentially use the money freed up by releasing Becton to re-sign Johnson.
We've seen this Chargers' front office approach situations in this exact way before. This is eerily similar to last offseason when the Chargers released Joey Bosa and then re-signed Khalil Mack to a one-year deal. The funds LA created by releasing Bosa essentially paid for Mack, allowing the Chargers to still make moves elsewhere.
This time, the thought process translates to the offensive line. The Chargers need to bring one of their two starting guards back from last season, as replacing the entire interior offensive line is a tall order. That's why it makes sense to cut the struggling Becton and re-sign the player who had a breakout year last year, even though he still had faults, in Johnson.
There has been some speculation and worry that Johnson will cost upwards of $20 million a season in free agency. If that's truly the price point, then it will throw a wrench in the entire plans. However, it seems much more reasonable that Johnson would sign a deal in the $12-16 million AAV range. Still expensive, but much easier to manage.
And even then, a deal with a $15 million AAV would probably have a cap hit right aroun $9-10 million in the first year. The second year would then have the biggest cap hit, with the ability to get out of the contract in year three.
By doing this, the Chargers would essentially replace Becton's cap hit in 2026 with Johnson's, add one more guaranteed year of Johnson at a higher price point with the cap likely going up again, and have the ability to once again pivot in 2028 if they need to.
That's the most reasonable way to spend this newfound budget. And it's what the Chargers should do.