3 players the Chargers may regret not signing in the first week of free agency

Drue Tranquill

This one is painful. Not only did the LA Chargers lose the team's biggest breakout player from the 2022 season but they have to watch him join a division rival. It is not just any division rival, though, it is the team that LA is currently chasing: the Kansas City Chiefs.

What exactly happened between Tranquill and the Chargers is unclear. Some reports say that Tranquill tested his free-agent market and did not get the offers he was looking for. Other reports say that the Chargers never offered him a deal.

Regardless of what happened between the two teams, Tranquill ended up signing a one-year, $3 million contract (with incentives) with the Chiefs. This is the second offseason in a row in which the Chargers let a breakout linebacker walk for such a cheap price.

Los Angeles brought in Tranquill's replacement in Eric Kendricks before Tranquill even signed with the Chiefs, signaling that the team had at least moved on from the idea of bringing Tranquill back. While Kendricks was a smart short-term signing, it doesn't look as wise with Tranquill signing a cheaper, shorter deal.

Heck, bringing Tranquill back even with Kendricks on the roster would have been welcomed. The duo of Tranquill and Kendricks at linebacker could have really been special and would have limited the number of snaps that Kenneth Murray is playing.

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Instead, the team is once again going to rely on Murray to get starting snaps while Tranquill will inevitably have a big game against the Bolts because that is how it always happens.