Ranking the Chargers best free-agent signings under Tom Telesco

NFL free agency is one of the most exciting periods of the NFL calendar year, especially when your team breaks the piggy bank and signs the star you were waiting for. That was the case for the LA Chargers last offseason when they went deep into the free-agency signings

With 2023 NFL free agency starting in less than a week, and the Chargers not having the means to spend big, it feels fitting to rank Tom Telesco’s best signings since he became Chargers general manager back in 2013.

Tom Telesco's 5 best signings as Chargers general manager:

5. OT Russell Okung

Before the 2017 free agency period, the Chargers released offensive tackle King Dunlap, leaving the team with a big hole in that position to protect QB Philip Rivers. A few weeks later, Telesco found his replacement. The Chargers signed Russell Okung to a four-year, $53 million dollar deal to lure him away from Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

In his first season with the Bolts, Okung started 15 of the 16 regular season games, missing only one game due to a groin injury. That same year he earned his way to his second Pro Bowl selection of his career.

Russell Okung spent three seasons with the Chargers, having a great first two years where he played 30 of the 32 possible games. During the 2019 offseason, Okung suffered a pulmonary embolism due to blood clots in his lungs. The team placed him on the reserve/non-football illness list and only played six games that year.

On March 4th, 2020, Okung was traded to the Carolina Panthers for Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner.