3 contracts that are significantly holding back the Chargers right now

J.C. Jackson

• Contract: Five-year, $82.5 million
• 2023 salary-cap hit: $17 million
• Years remaining: 4

If there is one move that the Chargers would likely take back from the 2021 offseason it would be signing J.C. Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract. This is totally in hindsight as well, as just about every Chargers fan and pundit alike loved this deal when it happened.

However, a lot has happened since then. Jackson really struggled in this Chargers' defense before rupturing his Patellar tendon against the Seattle Seahawks. Unfortunately, that injury is one that NFL players do not historically come back the same from.

What makes it worse is the fact that the Chargers don't really even need Jackson even if he was fully healthy. Asante Samuel Jr. really took a step up in his sophomore season and Michael Davis played like a legitimate CB1 after Jackson got hurt last season.

That money would have been spent better elsewhere. Instead, he has the highest cap hit of any player on the Chargers this season. He has a cap hit of over $19 million in each of the remaining three years.

The Chargers can get out of his deal after the 2023 season with a $15 million dead-cap hit in 2024. In 2025 that dead-cap hit goes down to $10 million and then $5 million in 2026.