Bears gift Chargers future draft pick with Gerald Everett signing

Unlike previous offseasons under a different regime, there has been a real focus on compensatory picks for the LA Chargers leading into free agency. New general manager Joe Hortiz established early how much he loves compensatory picks, which gave Chargers fans a hint on what the team may do.

Thus far in the first two days of the legal tampering window, the Chargers are in the green when it comes to compensatory picks. Los Angeles signed two free agents who do not impact the compensatory formula (Will Dissly, Alohi Gilman) and is projected to earn a compensatory pick for Kenneth Murray's shockingly expensive contract.

Losing Austin Ekeler was offset by the Gus Edwards signing but the Chargers were still able to add another projected compensatory pick on Tuesday. Tight end Gerald Everett signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Chicago Bears that is set to give the Chargers another pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, assuming the Bolts do not offset the compensatory pick with a move of their own.

Chargers earn projected sixth-round pick in 2025 NFL Draft from Gerald Everett signing

According to Over The Cap's calculations, the Chargers are projected to get a sixth-round pick for Everett signing with the Bears. With goes hand-in-hand with what teams have earned for deals like Everett's in the past, and gives the Chargers more ammunition to potentially bank on next year.

As it stands right now, the Chargers are projected to get a pair of sixth-round picks for Everett and Murray leaving the team. That may not seem like much, but it is a nice return for two players who were destined to walk in free agency anyway.

Now the game becomes whether or not the Chargers make any more moves to offset either of those picks. The Chargers still have to become cap-compliant and will have to cut/trade Mike Williams and Khalil Mack/Joey Bosa to do so.

With this in mind, the Chargers may not make any more free-agent signings, at least during this wave of free agency. Any free agents signed after May 1 do not count towards the compensatory formula, so the Chargers may be completely done with free-agent signings until then.

If the Chargers do end up making signings before the 2024 NFL Draft, it may come via players who were released by their respective teams. Players who were released, and did not have their contract expire, also do not count towards the compensatory formula.

Either way, as it stands right now the Chargers are in line to receive two additional picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, the exact value of those picks will not become official until next year.