3 Chargers that could fall off the age cliff and regress hard in 2023
By Jason Reed
2. Eric Kendricks
The Chargers signed Eric Kendricks not to replace Drue Tranquill after he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs but to upgrade from Tranquill. Brandon Staley has raved about the kind of player that Kendricks is and the high level of play that he showcased with the Minnesota Vikings.
That being said, some NFL execs have still slammed the Kendricks signing in large part because of his age. The Chargers have had a tendency in the past to sign players that are up there in age only to see them regress and/or get hurt and Kendricks is a candidate for both of those things.
Kendricks indeed has been great in Minnesota but he is already showing signs of regression. The 31-year-old linebacker was fine last season for the Vikings but he was notably slowing down and now he is being asked to learn a brand new system with Staley.
Granted, there is a world in which he plays for a better defensive coach and actually takes a step forward from how he played last year. But the days of him being an All-Pro linebacker are almost certainly over.
If Kendricks did fail to meet expectations it would not be the first time the Chargers signed a former All-Pro veteran who disappointed. Just look at Chris Harris Jr. from three years ago.