Several roster needs stand out for the LA Chargers this offseason, none more so than interior offensive line. Los Angeles desperately needs to find a new starting center and right guard this offseason if the team is going to make the jump to being a true Super Bowl contender.
There are various ways for the Chargers to add interior offensive line help and the team would be smart to mix it up. The Bolts are not going to fix the problem exclusively in free agency or exclusively in the draft. In fact, the best of both worlds is to use one top-100 pick on an offensive lineman to pair with a productive veteran.
If the Chargers want to go the veteran route at center, assuming the team strikes out on right guard Trey Smith this spring, then there may be no better option than Indianapolis' Ryan Kelly. It was originally unclear if the Chargers had a shot at Kelly, who has spent his entire career with the Colts and may have wanted it to stay that way.
Those questions have since been answered. While Kelly could still return to the Colts, he recently made it clear he is testing the free agency market for the first time in his career.
"Never been a free agent so I’m excited to see what’s out there," Kelly told reporters. "My plan is to see what’s out there on the market. Indy can always match it. I'll miss [the Colts], if that's it. It was a good run for nine years."
Chargers' interest in Ryan Kelly should ramp up after latest comments
Kelly isn't ruling out a return to Indianapolis but this is much different than how he sounded a year ago. The veteran center explicitly said he wanted to stay with the Colts last spring. It's clear Kelly wouldn't mind a change of scenery in 2025.
Given what the Chargers have to work with this offseason, Kelly is one of the best experienced options the team can go after. Drafting a center can be hit-and-miss, especially if done outside the early rounds. Veteran centers also have experience diagnosing blitz packages and making changes at the line of scrimmage, which is a tool rookie centers have to sharpen with time.
Kelly is a four-time Pro Bowler (last appeared in 2023) and was named a Second Team All-Pro in 2020. Over the last two seasons, Kelly has finished with a pass-block efficiency (per PFF) of 99.2 and 98.0. For comparison, Bradley Bozeman has been in the 97s in each of the last three seasons.
The veteran center was recovering from injury in 2024 as well. In 2023 he led all centers in pass-block efficiency with Lloyd Cushenberry, Jason Kelce, and Creed Humphrey rounding out the top four.
At 32 years old, Kelly still has a few more great seasons in him and he has proven fairly recently he can perform up there with the best of the best. The Chargers clearly should be interested in giving Kelly the change of scenery he seems to desire.