1. Letting Kyzir White walk for next to nothing
Linebacker is not as important in Brandon Staley's defense, I get it. The team also traded up to draft Kenneth Murray just two years ago and needs to invest in him. I get that as well. But at the end of the day, good players are good players and if you can retain a good player for a very cheap cost then you do it and you make it work.
Instead, it feels like the Chargers went into the offseason knowing that they would not re-sign Kyzir White. His value tanked as the offseason went along with linebackers being the running backs of the defense and the Chargers still seemingly showed no interest. He wound up signing a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles that starts at $3 million and can be worth up to $5 million. His cap hit is $1.4 million.
Then, right after White signs for an absurdly low cap hit with the Eagles, the Chargers went and signed Troy Reeder, who played under Brandon Staley on the LA Rams. Reeder's cap hit for the 2022 season is worth $1.075 million. White is undoubtedly better than Reeder and would have cost the Chargers less than half a million more on the cap.
With Kenneth Murray having offseason surgery on his ankle after White signed with the Eagles the linebacker position is looking even bleaker. Granted, they have Derwin James who can move around and play in the box, especially with the addition of JT Woods, but it would simply be nice to have White in this defense.
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Talent is talent at the end of the day and while the position may not be that important, if you can get a talented player who thrived in this system for under $1.5 million on the cap it makes zero sense to not sign said player.