The LA Chargers' season ended sooner than expected with an ugly loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild-Card Round. Just making the playoffs was a huge win for the Chargers in Jim Harbaugh's first year but there was a lot of hope around the Chargers advancing to the AFC Divisional Round.
The wounds are fresh but the Chargers now must turn to the impending offseason as Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz look to build on the foundation from 2024. The 2024 season was always meant to be a rebuild year and the fact the team was as successful as it was is a testament to the culture those two have built.
With so many impending free agents, there naturally will be several departures from the 2024 team. However, there are also quite a few free agents who the team must move mountains to re-sign.
One of those free agents is nose tackle Poona Ford. Ford signed a one-year flier contract with the Chargers and ended up being one of the most impactful players on the defensive side of the ball. While speaking to reporters on Sunday, Ford made his intentions in free agency pretty clear: he wants to stay in Los Angeles.
Chargers DT Poona Ford said he would love to comeback. That he loves his teammates and the coaches. pic.twitter.com/uuKsNaKotu
— Fernando Ramirez (@RealFRamirez) January 12, 2025
Chargers should give Poona Ford what he wants and re-sign him after breakout 2024 season
Ford's presence as a run-stuffing nose tackle was one of the main reasons why the Chargers' defense was so successful in 2024. For years the Chargers have struggled against the run and have yearned for a player who could be as impactful against the run as Ford.
There really is no reason for the Chargers not to bring Ford back in 2025 and beyond. He more than earned a new contract and while his price will go up, he still is not going to cost an arm and a leg.
Run-stuffing nose tackles are not the most sought-after free agents and with Ford loving Los Angeles so much the team can probably bring him back on a slight hometown discount. A hometown discount on a contract that is already small is a no-brainer.
The Chargers could probably re-sign Ford to a deal similar to Morgan Fox's from two years ago. Los Angeles shocked fans by re-signing Fox to a cheap two-year, $7.25 million contract. That might be the ceiling of what Ford would re-sign for to stay in Los Angeles.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it and the Chargers have no reason to move on from the Ford-Teair Tart pairing on the interior defensive line. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, the Chargers should stick to what works and build around that.