With the new regime in LA hoping to bring the Chargers back to being a competitive team, especially in their Chiefs-dominated division, it's surprising they haven't attempted to sign one of the top remaining free agents, who some believe is Patrick Mahomes' kryptonite.
Playing in a division with a current dynasty in the making isn't going to be easy for any team, but there are ways to try and take that team down a notch, one of which is bulking up your defense to bring the quarterback back to reality.
The best way for the Chargers to implement that moving forward would be to sign long-time Broncos safety Justin Simmons, who is still waiting to sign with a team for the 2024 season.
Chargers still have a chance to sign a game-changing defender to help in the fight against the Chiefs
It looks like Sean Payton is good with not bringing back the ballhawk for another year, despite his rise to stardom and earning a second Pro Bowl honor just last season. The Chargers swooping in to take a dominating safety they've had to play against twice a season for the past eight years would be a sweet deal, not just in that regard but also to continue wreaking havoc on Mahomes.
Simmons has been a dominant force in the secondary since joining the NFL in 2016. He began his career with a bang in Denver by recording 30 combined tackles, two tackles for a loss, two interceptions returned for 83 yards and four passes defended.
Since then, he's put together quite an impressive resume, with the most incredible being the 26 more interceptions he's added. Five of those were thrown by Mahomes, making Simmons the only player in NFL history to have more than two interceptions from the quarterback.
Given that he's still available to sign feels like it's a no-brainer at this point for the Chargers to sign him, especially if they can get him at an affordable price.
It seems like the teams that would be clamoring for him would've already offered a hefty contract, but since that doesn't appear to be the case, there's no reason for Joe Hortiz not to make the call.