The Los Angeles Chargers, under Joe Hortiz, have largely been comfortable letting defensive talent walk when the market dictates their price.
In part, this has likely been due to the confidence Hortiz had in Jesse Minter's scheme. But even with Minter gone and Chris O'Leary in place for 2026, Hortiz still let both Odafe Oweh and Benjamin St-Juste walk. Oweh was replaced by the selection of Akheem Mesidor in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, while St-Juste will likely be replaced internally. Between the two moves, the Chargers saved roughly $25 million against the cap.
Next offseason, it could very well be Donte Jackson, who cemented himself as one of the league's most reliable cornerbacks in his first season in Los Angeles. But in time, this will mean that some of the homegrown talent, rather than just the rentals, will be allowed to walk in free agency.
Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still will be entering the final years of their rookie deals in 2027. Given Hortiz's general philosophy towards the secondary, it's unlikely he'll be willing to extend both.
That leaves the pair of young cornerbacks locked into a high stakes battle over the next two seasons.
Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still will be battling for their Chargers tenure over the next two seasons
Much of Hortiz's philosophy is simply a result of the way teams prioritize roster construction in the modern NFL. With extensions looming for Tuli Tuipulotu (this offseason), Joe Alt (next offseason), and Justin Herbert (much further down the line), it makes sense to cycle talent in and out of the secondary— especially when the team has a proven track record of being able to maximize its pieces in that portion of the defense.
But both Hart and Still, who were selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, have already become integral pieces of the Chargers defense. With St-Juste gone, both players will also have a greater workload on their shoulders heading into 2026.
Through the first two season of their Chargers tenure, Still has proved to be the more reliable cornerback. He finished 28th out of 114 qualified cornerbacks in Pro Football Focus's coverage-grading system last season, posting 48 solo tackles and four PBUs in Los Angeles' zone-heavy scheme.
Hart, meanwhile, struggles slightly more in coverage— he finished 63rd in coverage grade, although he posted 10 PBUs in 2025.
Neither player will earn market-setting contracts when their free agency arrives at the end of 2027. But something comparable to the three-year, $51 million deal Jaylen Watson earned with the Los Angeles Rams this offseason isn't out of the realm of possibility for either player.
As of now, Still would likely be the favorite to receive that type of deal from the Chargers. But over the next two seasons, both players will be locked into a competition to prolong their time with the organization.
It's not an ideal scenario, but it's a necessary one given Los Angeles' organizational approach.
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