Fans went into the offseason expecting the LA Chargers to make a splash on the offensive line to protect Justin Herbert. After all, the Chargers had about $100 million in cap space heading into free agency to play with.
Instead, general manager Joe Hortiz has done what he always does and is staying away from the top of the free-agent market. It's not just the top, though. The Chargers have stayed away from the middle of the market as well.
The result of this roster management is Cole Strange being the best guard the Chargers have signed to this point. Strange does not have a good track record and in an offseason with so much promise, the idea of committing $13 million to him to be a starter next season is truly bewildering.
Maybe, just maybe, it won't be as bad as it seems. Miami Dolphins expert Brian Miller, who is the leading voice over at Phin Phanatic, actually sees Strange as a big loss for the Dolphins despite what the numbers might suggest. Maybe he can also win over Chargers fans?
"The Dolphins' loss of Cole Strange is going to hurt their depth at a position they are far too thin at. The fact he is joining the Chargers shouldn’t be a surprise. 2025 was one of his better NFL seasons and while his play didn’t pop off the charts, he was good and far more consistent than he was with the Patriots," Miller writes.
"Most Dolphins fans had hoped to keep him, if for depth alone, but in LA, he will get a chance to start and he showed last year he deserves that."
Cole Strange deserves to start for the Chargers according to Dolphins expert
The numbers suggest Strange was one of the worst starting guards in the league last season but perhaps there is more that meets the eye. Pressures don't always fall on one player alone and can be caused by the situation as well as who is under center.
Miami also didn't field a great offensive line last season and as Chargers fans know all too well, a bad offensive line only exposes flawed players. Perhaps the expectation is that Strange will play the best ball of his career on a line where he will be flanked by an All-Pro-caliber tackle and a serviceable, experienced center.
As worrisome as Strange's pass blocking is, he does have the makings of being a great run blocker and that makes him a fit in Mike McDaniel's scheme. Knowing they have two great tackles to lean on, a good center, and a supposed early pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, perhaps the Chargers are okay with Strange being the worst starter of the bunch.
And hey, if the Chargers can mask his shortcomings and put him in positions to succeed there is a world in which the team fields a serviceable offensive line with Strange as a starter. It's certainly not impossible.
Now, all that being said, philosophically, this is still a mistake by the Bolts. They are putting too much pressure on themselves to hit an absolute home run in the 2026 NFL Draft with no room for error. Strange would be a fine backup option for a team that will need to add offensive line depth. Him being as a starting option is concerning.
Plus, a team with an elite franchise quarterback should look to invest in protecting that asset. The Chargers shouldn't draw the line at $13 million across two seasons for a starting guard. That is a manner of penny pinching that is not fair to Justin Herbert.
But hey, at least there is some level of hope for Strange, even if that hope is hard for Chargers fans to fully get behind.