The Los Angeles Chargers have a number of needs to be addressed this offseason. Their interior offensive line desperately needs to be re-tooled. Both Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh need to be re-signed. And it's starting to seem like both coordinator positions will need to be filled.
This roster doesn't necessarily need a complete overhaul. But there are very few who would be satisified if Los Angeles was not one of the more active teams over the next few months.
A case can be made that any number of external free agents could be the solution the Chargers' woes on both sides of the ball. At almost every position the team needs, there are solid players available to be lured in.
However, there is one internal free agent, defensive tackle Teair Tart, who Los Angeles needs to get locked down immediately. Their ability (or inability) to do so could define their approach to the rest of the offseason.
The Chargers' first order of business must be locking down Teair Tart
This claim might seem counterintuitive, especially given how much work there is to do on the offensive side of tha ball. It might begin to make sense, however, in the context of the decisions the Chargers have in front of them.
While the defense as a whole was incredible this season under Jesse Minter, there were stretches where the run defense struggled severely. Outside of Tart, much of the defensive tackle talent the Chargers have is frankly middling. The decline of Denzel Perryman is also a cause for concern on this front.
Tart had a quietly great 2025 season and showed his importance on a national stage in the team's loss to the New England Patriots, amassing two tackles for loss, a QB hit, and a pass defended in just 42.2% of defensive snaps.
If Tart is somehow snatched up by another team in free agency, the complexion of this defense changes rather drastically.
If they are able to quickly lock him down (on a contract slightly exceeding the $4.5 million he secured last offseason), they can turn their focus onto other needs, at least for a moment.
Firstly, securing Tart for next season would remove some of the urgency for snatching up a DT in the first round of the draft. The Chargers could then opt to take a center or guard to replace Bradley Bozeman or Mekhi Becton, grabbing an additional DT in free agency or on Day 2 of the draft.
Secondly, Tart should be the easiest of their major defensive contracts to wrap up. Oweh and Mack need to be re-signed, but their negotiations may drag out well into the offseason depending on their individual circumstances and desires. Locking Tart up, more than any other individual decision the team will make this offseason, gives them an immediately clearer picture on how to address the rest of their needs.
Tart's deal will by no means be the most impactful or most expensive Los Angeles will sign this offseason. But his return could solidify one of the team's two major needs long enough for the rest of the picture to crystallize.