One of the biggest needs that the LA Chargers must address this offseason is the tight end position. As it stands right now, the Chargers only have one tight end with NFL playing experience on the entire roster in Donald Parham. With tight end being one of the weakest positions on the team last season, the Bolts need to add as many resources as possible heading into 2024.
Some of those resources may come from free agency while others will come from the draft. The Bolts could take a chance on the best tight end in this draft class in the first round by taking Brock Bowers. Or, the team could take a tight end later in the draft, and couple that with a free agent.
With the league year right around the corner, teams throughout the league are starting to conduct roster cuts to make salary cap space. In these cuts, the Chargers were just gifted an ideal cheap tight-end target that can be signed whether or not Bowers is taken.
#Jets expected to release tight end C.J. Uzomah, per sources. Move will save $5-plus million on the cap.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 5, 2024
CJ Uzomah would be a great cheap tight end for the Chargers to sign
CJ Uzomah is not a prolific pass-catching tight end and those looking at his raw stats last season may not understand the value he would bring to the Chargers. If Uzomah was signed to be the No. 1 pass-catching weapon for the Chargers at tight end then it would be a problem. But it would be much bigger than that.
There are a couple of factors that are working in Uzomah's favor. The first is the fact that he is one of the best blocking tight ends in the entire sport and that is an area where the Chargers have struggled. Pro Football Focus grades are flawed but it is worth noting that Uzomah had the fourth-highest run-blocking grade among all tight ends last season.
It is also important to note that Uzomah won't just come at a cheap cost because of his status in the league, but that he also does not factor into the compensatory formula. Because he was released, the Chargers signing him will not offset any compensatory picks the team receives for outgoing free agents.
That makes Uzomah a more intriguing free-agent target than a tight end who is hitting the market because their contracts expired. Those tight ends would count against the compensatory formula and would take away from any 2025 picks the team potentially can receive from Austin Ekeler and Gerald Everett leaving.
Los Angeles would still need to add a pass-catching tight end, whether that be via free agency or in the draft. But as a start, Uzomah would be a solid addition to the roster.