Despite having an ample amount of salary cap space to work with heading into free agency, the Los Angeles Chargers haven't exactly made the impact many thought they would.
Not including center Tyler Biadasz, whom they were able to sign just ahead of the legal tampering period as the Washington Commanders had already released him, the Bolts have only added a handful of external free agents, those being blocking tight end Charlie Kolar, offensive lineman Cole Strange, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson, running back/return specialist Keaton Mitchell, and fullback Alec Ingold. Not exactly the most high-profile list, right?
Truth be told, as opposed to the players the Chargers brought in, much more attention was given to a player they missed out on, that player, of course, being Odafe Oweh, who ultimately signed a four-year, $100 million deal with the aforementioned Commanders. Oweh obviously wasn't with Los Angeles long, but he undoubtedly made an impact, tallying 7.5 sacks in a dozen regular-season games and then setting a franchise playoff record with three sacks and two forced fumbles in the Bolts' wild-card loss to the New England Patriots.
But what's done is done, and Jim Harbaugh now has to hope that gap can be filled in the near future. There are still some players available in free agency, and the Chargers can obviously also go looking for help in next month's draft. The third option is to make a trade, and one call that could conceivably be made is to the New York Giants, who just happen to have a new head coach in none other than John Harbaugh, with the purpose of that call being to inquire about the availability of Kayvon Thibodeaux.
A Chargers-Giants trade for Kayvon Thibodeaux isn't the worst idea in the world
NFL Senior Editor Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut recently compiled a list of five trade scenarios that could potentially play out, and the fourth entry on that list was a deal between the Bolts and Giants that would send Thibodeaux to Los Angeles, with veteran linebacker Denzel Perryman and a fourth-round pick (No. 123 overall) in next month's draft going to New York.
"The Los Angeles Chargers didn’t re-sign Odafe Oweh because the asking price just got too high," Johnson wrote. "What Oweh’s success playing opposite Khalil Mack showed is how great of a landing spot this can be for another edge rusher. Acquiring Maxx Crosby is off the table, but Los Angeles absolutely can pull off a trade for another former first-round pick at edge who hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.
"For the New York Giants, this might be around the best possible return they could get for one season of Kayvon Thibodeaux. Acquiring Denzel Perryman gives New York more depth at off-ball linebacker and the front office could find a role player with the additional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. This move gets Thibodeaux a much-needed change of scenery, with the Harbaugh brothers helping one another out."
It certainly isn't the worst proposal in the world.
It's true that Thibodeaux hasn't exactly lived up to the status of being the fifth overall pick of the 2022 draft, but it's not as if the Oregon alum has been an absolute bust either. Injuries have forced him to miss a dozen games over the past two years, which obviously isn't the greatest selling point, but when he was fully healthy and appeared in all 17 regular-season contests in 2023, he racked up 11.5 sacks.
Even if the 25-year-old isn't at his best getting to the quarterback, he can still help the Chargers against opposing ground attacks, as he's typically been strong against the run throughout his young career. This past season, while he only appeared in 10 games, his 80.7 run-defense grade ranked seventh among 115 eligible edge defenders.
Thibodeaux is a tad expensive, as his fifth-year option puts his cap number at $14.751 million in 2026, but the Chargers can easily afford that if they choose to go in this direction. Losing some linebacker depth in Perryman would hurt, as would giving up a fourth-round pick, but this might be a gamble worth taking.