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.
2. Chargers sign a cheap wide receiver, preferably who can be a returner
As it stands right now the LA Chargers only have three wide receivers on the roster. Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer are the only receivers the team has and it desperately needs to add more depth to that receiver room.
The Bolts have made the silly decision to only carry five active receivers over the last two years. Hopefully, with there only being one backup quarterback, the Bolts wise up and carry six active receivers like most teams in the league. But that might be a bit too much to ask considering they would need to double the current number of receivers.
In a perfect world, the Chargers would sign a cheap wide receiver in free agency, trade down in the 2023 NFL Draft and take two wide receivers to give the team long-term depth. That would get the wide receiver room up to six.
Los Angeles cannot wait until the draft to bring in more receiver help, though. They need to bring in someone now who can provide depth and potentially even have the ability to return kicks in 2023.
Perhaps that means the team will re-sign DeAndre Carter. Carter was good in special teams and while he had his shortcomings on offense, he was never meant to have as big of a role as he did. There are also other candidates such as Isaiah McKenzie, who was just released by the Bills and would be perfect in LA.
3. Chargers address offensive line depth
The Chargers were able to re-sign Trey Pipkins at a relatively cheap price, which is a fantastic thing not just for 2023 but for future years as well. For the first time in a long time, the Chargers are going to have the entire starting offensive line locked down for at least three seasons together. That is special.
While the starting offensive line has the legitimate potential to be one of the best in the entire sport, the team still needs to add depth behind the starters to ensure that it can withstand any storm during the season.
Injuries are inevitable and while the team can do everything it can to try and avoid big injuries, it would be very shocking if all five offensive linemen were able to start every single game in 2023. That just is not a reasonable expectation.
Matt Feiler was cut to make space for Pipkins and the team lost Storm Norton to the New Orleans Saints (although that isn't a bad thing). Backup center Will Clapp is also still a free agent.
The Chargers are likely going to draft an offensive lineman or two late in the 2023 NFL Draft for depth but they need to make at least one, if not two cheap signings solely for depth purposes. That could be just Clapp, it could be a new swing tackle, or it could be a combination of the two.
If the Chargers end up trading Austin Ekeler and create more cap space that way then it is likely that the team will sign a cheap free agent running back as well. For now, that likely is not in the cards before these three moves.