Chargers LG Zion Johnson finished out his rookie contract last year and is slated to hit free agency in March. Los Angeles did not pick up Johnson’s fifth-year option last year.
Part of that was a reflection on Johnson as a player prior to the 2025 season, but offensive linemen fifth-year options are grouped together positionally. Effectively, they would have paid Johnson near top of the guard market or nearly bordering on the tackle market. The Ravens experienced something similar when they declined the fifth-year option of C Tyler Linderbaum.
Johnson showed improvement in 2025. He allowed the fewest pressures (26) and sacks (3) of his career. A 97.7 pass blocking efficiency last season was the highest of his career so far. Johnson has still not quite delivered on the promise from when the Chargers first drafted him in 2022 as far as being more than a starting-caliber guard. But his development this past season was a step in the right direction.
How much is Chargers GM Joe Hortiz willing to pay in free agency for Zion Johnson?
With first-round draft pick pedigree, Johnson will have interest assuming he hits the free agent market in March. Hortiz was asked about Johnson’s potential market on Tuesday at the NFL Combine:
”We have a range, with every player, not just Zion (Johnson). Every player, that we tag a guy with a range. There’s a valuation,” Hortiz explained. “So that’s what we do. Is it a hard ceiling? No, I don’t think you ever place a hard ceiling on any player. But you have to pay what you think a player is worth, or somewhere near there. We’ll see what happens with Zion, where the market goes-if he gets to market. We’ll stay engaged with him through the process.”
Daniel Popper of The Athletic asked if recent contracts given out at the position would affect the negotiation. Hortiz said that they would continue dialogue with Johnson and meet with his agent next week.
The guard market has had some overpay situations in recent years. Green Bay gave out one of the most perplexing contracts last offseason when they signed then Niners OL Aaron Banks to a four year, $77 million deal ($19.25M APY).
With Hortiz’s “ceiling” comment, he acknowledged that there is a world where Johnson’s market similarly gets too high for LA’s liking.
Ideally, the Chargers would prefer not to replace all three interior offensive line spots with Bradley Bozeman and (likely) Mekhi Becton on the way out. But free agency will be a stress test on just how much LA values Johnson after some relative improvement in 2025.