Predicting Chargers' next moves with the team's remaining salary-cap space
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers have done a great job so far in NFL free agency. There were multiple questions around the team that have already been answered, whether it be via re-signing players or by bringing in replacements for departing players.
Los Angeles likely isn't done, however. There are still multiple holes on the roster that could be addressed and the team still has more money to spend. Daniel Popper of The Athletic projects the Chargers to have around $7.7 million in spending space after factoring in a rookie draft pool and an in-season budget.
LA could even have more money to spend than that if the team plans on making Dustin Hopkins a post-June 1 cut, which would free up $1.18 million in cap space, per Over The Cap. $7.7 million is still more than enough for the team, though.
Predicting the Chargers' next moves with $7.7 million in salary-cap space:
1. Sign John Johnson III
The Chargers have been heavily tied to safety John Johnson III, who previously played under Brandon Staley on the LA Rams and does everything that Staley wants in a defensive back. He is versatile, was really good with the Rams and can replace Nasir Adderley in the secondary.
Things didn't quite work out for Johnson on the Cleveland Browns, leading to him getting cut for salary-cap reasons this offseason. Johnson is still only 27 years old and under the right defensive coordinator can still offer a lot to a defense.
Johnson has arguably the best year of his career under Staley and at the very least should be an improvement over Adderley in the secondary next season. Considering the fact that he is coming off of a down year with the Browns, Johnson can probably be signed for around half of the team's remaining salary cap. I would expect a one-year deal with a $3-3.5 million cap hit.