Free agency hasn't been exactly what LA Chargers fans were hoping for. Just like a year ago, the Chargers have operated around the fringes without signing a single contract over $30 million in total value.
General manager Joe Hortiz had ample cap space to spend this offseason, but has stuck to his conservative spending strategy. Meanwhile, teams in similar salary-cap situations have gone on spending sprees with the hope of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
This includes players who have left the Chargers this offseason. In fact, the two biggest Chargers departures aren't being viewed very favorably because of how much they signed for. Both Odafe Oweh and Zion Johnson made Bleacher Report's list of the worst overpays of NFL free agency thus far.
Chargers may have avoided overpays by letting Zion Johnson and Odafe Oweh walk
This isn't the first time the Cleveland Browns received flak for signing Johnson. That signing was called one of the worst of free agency by NFL Trade Rumors and here, Bleacher Report is doubling down.
Calling Oweh an overpay may seem more surprising given how exceptional he played on the Chargers down the stretch of the 2025 season. Heck, there was a large contingent of the fanbase that would have been okay with paying Oweh $100 million after the way he played for the Bolts.
However, it's worth noting that Oweh's hot run was just that: a hot run. He does not have the career track record to back up that play so there's no telling if he can live up to it again. That's why the Chargers were so content with letting him leave despite trading for him months prior.
Ironically enough, the Chargers may have been better off if they were the team overpaying for Johnson, even if the optics of the deal still didn't look great. Los Angeles had far more cap space than Cleveland, making it more palatable to overpay for Johnson than it is for the Browns.
While he's not perfect, it would have been better to pay Johnson $14-15 million per year than to pay Cole Strange $6.5 million per year. But alas, the Chargers bet on Strange's experience in Mike McDaniel's offense, even if he was still one of the worst guards in the sport under McDaniel.
Regardless, Hortiz is sitting back reading this with a smile on his face. The Chargers GM was lambasted by many for the lack of activity in free agency but now that the dust is settling, his inactivity is more justified... at least in the eyes of Bleacher Report.