Zion Johnson is an unrestricted free agent after putting together a career year that was still polarizing to LA Chargers fans. While Johnson took steps in the right direction, he was still part of a struggling Chargers offensive line that allowed Justin Herbert to be pressured more than any quarterback in the league.
Still, Johnson's jump in performance will land him a bigger pay day than he would have received otherwise. Throw in the fact that he is a recent first-round pick and Johnson's value in the free-agent market will be greater than fans would have expected.
Don't believe us? Just ask Daniel Popper of The Athletic. In his latest intel dump from the NFL Combine, Popper shared where Johnson's market is heading with free agency right around the corner. According to Popper, Johnson's market could go as high as $20 million a year. No, that's not a typo.
Zion Johnson will leave the Chargers if reported market value is true
The Chargers have the money to sign Johnson to a contract that pays him $20 million annually. It's not like the team is strapped for cash and has to let him walk at this price. However, everything the team has done under GM Joe Hortiz makes it pretty unlikely that they will sign Johnson to a deal this expensive.
Hortiz has valued future financial flexibility and has avoided overpaying players on the free-agent market. Just last year the Chargers declined Johnson's fifth-year option, which would have paid him under $20 million in 2026.
While Johnson took a step in the right direction, it's hard to imagine the Chargers being okay with a multi-year deal at $20+ million when they didn't want to pay him less than that a year ago when they had the chance to.
In hindsight, declining Johnson's fifth-year option might be something the Chargers regret. Yes, it would have limited the team's financial flexibility this offseason, but the Bolts will have to spend that money anyway. Now the Chargers are stuck in a position where they have to either overpay Johnson to keep him around or try to replace him with a cheaper option that is not guaranteed to succeed.
Sure, it was hard to predict how Johnson would play in 2025 given his track record the three years prior. However, the Chargers obviously had enough faith in him to start in 2025 as the team brought in no option to even replace him if he was playing poorly.
So they had enough trust in him to protect Herbert for an entire season, but not enough trust to add one more year to his deal at a moderate price point? The Chargers tried to have their cake and eat it too, and now the bill may be due.
It would be genuinely shocking if Johnson returns to the Chargers at this reported market price. The Chargers either need to be extremely desperate, or Johnson's market has to be cooler than Popper is insinuating in his latest intel dump.
If neither of those things are true, Johnson will suit up for another club in 2026 and beyond.