The LA Chargers just lost perhaps the most embarrassing game in franchise history. After a dominating start led by Asante Samuel Jr, the Chargers went on to blow a 27-0 lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are rightfully the butt of the joke as it is the third-largest blown lead in playoff history.
Practically the entire fanbase agrees that Brandon Staley's tenure as the head coach should come to an end. Staley has a great defensive mind but has not shown the ability to adjust and has made questionable decision after questionable decision. You don't lose Mike Williams in a needless game and then blow a 27-0 lead in the playoffs and keep your job.
Staley is not the only one that is going to be leaving Los Angeles. The Chargers have a lot of decisions to make with impending free agents and potential cuts this offseason. While more than five players will ultimately leave, there are five, in particular, that are guaranteed to leave.
5 players who just played their last snap with the Chargers
1. Nasir Adderley
To be fair to Nasir Adderley, he did not play much in his final game with the Chargers. Brandon Staley made the decision to bench Adderley in favor of Alohi Gilman, which tells you everything you need to know about his future with the team.
Adderley has had good moments in his career but for the most part, it has been pretty disappointing for the 2019 second-round pick. There are traits in Adderley that might be unlocked by another defensive mind but his time with the Chargers should probably come to an end.
This makes safety a key need for the Bolts, likely in the 2023 NFL Draft. It won't be a first-round need but with Adderley leaving and JT Woods not showing anything in his rookie season, more safety depth is needed.
2. Matt Feiler
Matt Feiler had a pretty bad start to the 2022 season and to be fair to the veteran left guard, he did turn things around as the year went along. He will was not great and certainly was not as good as he was in 2021 but Feiler kept it from being a real disaster of a season.
That being said, Feiler did not do enough to ultimately change his fate with the Chargers. While Feiler is not a free agent after this season, he is the most obvious cut candidate for the Bolts this offseason.
Feiler will have an $8.5 million cap hit if he sticks around with the Chargers next season. Los Angeles does not have much financial flexibility this offseason and for that reason, cutting Feiler becomes an obvious move. The Chargers can free up $6.5 million in cap space with Feiler only having a $2 million cap hit.
The best part for the Chargers is that they already know who their starting left guard should be next season. Jamaree Salyer was thrust into the starting left tackle role after Rashawn Slater's injury and he played quite well. The things he struggled with at left tackle will be masked at left guard, especially with Slater next to him.
Salyer will likely be better than Feiler next season and will be miles cheaper. It is a no-brainer for the Chargers to make this younger transition.
3. DeAndre Carter
DeAndre Carter was a savvy signing by the LA Chargers as he ended up having a bigger role on this team than initially expected. Jalen Guyton suffering a season-ending ACL injury so early in the season (along with Keenan Allen's early injury) forced the Chargers to make Carter a bigger part of the offense.
There were hit-and-miss moments with Carter as a receiver. He had some really strong moments where it looked like the Chargers found a diamond in the rough. Then there were moments when Carter's flaws were apparent, which is why he wasn't signed to be a top-three receiver in the first place.
Carter did enough to increase his value after his one-year deal with the Bolts and that will likely lead to him finding a new team in 2023. The Chargers simply do not have the funds to bring Carter back into the fold unless he signs a league-minimum deal. That no longer seems likely.
Guyton is a restricted free agent so the Chargers should be able to bring him back. The team still needs more receiver depth and absolutely should target that at some point in the draft. This team loves being short-handed at wide receiver and that cannot be the case yet again next season.
4. Bryce Callahan
Bryce Callahan has been really, really good for the LA Chargers. The Bolts signed Callahan after the 2023 NFL Draft to be the team's starting slot corner and he played far better than most fans expected. Callahan was coming off of a down year with the Broncos in which injuries hurt his play. He showed what a healthy version of him could do.
So why is his tenure with the Chargers coming to an end? This is a classic case of the Chargers getting a good value on a veteran player, raising their value, and then watching them sign with another team. Callahan will almost certainly go for more than he did this season and the Bolts should not pay that price.
Time and time again we see veteran cornerbacks fall off a cliff without warning. Callahan is going to turn 32 in October. It it bad team building to commit a fair amount of money to a cornerback that is going to be 32, regardless of how they played the year before. Remember Chris Harris?
Let another team learn that lesson with Callahan. Instead, the Chargers could look to get more out of Ja'Sir Taylor in his sophomore season. Los Angeles could also try and find the next Callahan by signing a cheap, veteran corner with connections to the new head coach.
Callahan signed with the Chargers because of his connections to Staley and the Vic Fangio defense. He will likely part ways, and maybe will join Staley on his next team.
5. Chase Daniel
Chase Daniel's last NFL game with actual action will go down as the Week 18 loss against the Denver Broncos. After re-signing with the Bolts last spring, it seems most likely that Daniel will coast off into the sunset and start his career as an analyst.
After all, Daniel already started his post-playing career with NFL Network this season. A quarterback who is still playing doesn't take a part-time analyst role if he wasn't planning on retiring after the season. That seems like a given.
Daniel may not have ever been a true starter but he will still go down in NFL history. He is one of the most prolific backup quarterbacks in NFL history, making quite a living for being a great presence in the quarterback room to help the starter.
It will be interesting to see what the Chargers do at the quarterback position. Easton Stick is a free agent and the team obviously did not believe in him enough to activate him, so it is hard to see them committing to making him the lone backup.
There are two other routes the team could take. They could try and sign another cheap veteran to replace Daniel or they could use a late-round draft pick for a backup quarterback. The latter would not be totally surprising considering that is what they did with Stick.