Since the Los Angeles Chargers concluded their offseason business in the wake of the NFL Draft, the attention (at least for those still thinking about the cap sheet) has largely turned toward one player— Tuli Tuipolotu, who still has not signed a long-term contract extension after his breakout campaign in 2025.
Tuipulotu certainly deserves to get paid. He posted 70 pressures, 13 sacks, and two forced fumbles last season, stepping up as the Chargers' lead pass rusher next to Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh. Although he may split interior pass-rushing opportunities with rookie OLB Akheem Mesidor, there's no reason to think he won't be as productive this season.
And yet he and the Chargers still haven't come to an agreement, and there have been no updates about any momentum being gained on that front.
Although Tuipulotu quickly ended whatever his 'hold-in' was and has claimed that he'll play no matter what in 2026, Los Angeles would still be wise to get him locked up before the new campaign kicks off. But they're rapidly running out of time as training camp and the preseason come to an end.
The Chargers should do everything in their power to lock down TulI Tuipulotu before the start of the season
There's one path to arguing that the Chargers should wait on a Tuipulotu extension— if you believe he has a strong chance of failing to match his production from last season.
Granted, there's always a chance of that when a player has a sudden breakout. Tuipulotu amassed just 8.5 sacks and 42 combined tackles playing behind Mack and Joey Bosa in 2024, and his numbers in 2025 were significantly buoyed by his four-sack performance against the New York Giants in Week 4. With Mesidor entering the fold, perhaps Tuipulotu falls down into a more comfortable 10-sack range, saving Los Angeles roughly $4 or $5 million annually on his next deal.
Right now, Tuipulotu would likely command at least four years and $25 million annually on his extension. With extensions also looming for Daiyan Henley (next offseason) and Joe Alt (in 2028), committing that number to Tuipulotu could inevitably make things tight.
But the Chargers need Tuipulotu to be at the top of his game this season. Although Mack is still as consistent as ever off the edge, his sack production has declined in each of the past two seasons even if you take his 17-sack 2023 campaign as an outlier. Mesidor, meanwhile, should have the physicality and the speed to be a worthy complementary option for Tuipulotu, but he's still an unproven quantity until we see him find consistent success on an NFL field.
Tuipulotu is a rising star, and Los Angeles need him to take on that mantle wholeheartedly this season— both for the short-term productivity and the long-term stability of the outside linebacker room.
There's still time to get a deal done. Joe Hortiz has maintained all offseason that reaching an agreement with Tuipulotu this offseason is a priority, and he's known for his typically proactive approach to these sorts of things. If Los Angeles uses the upcoming dead week to sit down and hammer out final details with Tuipulotu's representation, that's a perfectly acceptable outcome.
But to let him walk into the season without a contract is a risk and a distraction that the Chargers should be looking to avoid at all costs.
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