3 "Brandon Staley guys" who have no future on the Chargers (and 1 who does)

Sebastian Joseph-Day has no future on the Chargers

The run defense was an unmitigated disaster for the Chargers in Staley's first season in 2021. Los Angeles was putting up historically bad numbers and the excuse at the time was that Staley did not have "his guys" to stop the run.

Adding to the trenches became a focus in the 2022 offseason and the biggest interior defensive lineman that the team added was Sebastian Joseph-Day. Staley coached SJD with the LA Rams and that connection is ultimately what brought SJD to the Bolts.

On paper, it looked like an excellent signing for the Chargers. Joseph-Day was by no means an elite pass rusher but his run-stop numbers were up there with the best in the league. However, those numbers were also elevated by the fact that he got to play next to the best defensive lineman of this generation, Aaron Donald.

Those numbers did not quite translate to the Chargers. The Chargers did get better against the run but there was no room for the team to get worse. Joseph-Day has been mediocre at best and with Staley gone, the new Chargers' GM likely won't want to pay him in 2024.

Joseph-Day is set to make $10 million next season but the Chargers can get that cap hit down to $2.5 million by cutting him.