The Los Angeles Chargers are a franchise in disarray, and the winds of change are blowing strong as a rebuild appears to be on the horizon.
The big picture: After a failed move to Los Angeles, the Chargers followed up a 12-4 season with a 5-11 campaign and have no true starting quarterback on the roster heading into 2020. So is it time for the team to blow it all up and do a full-blown rebuild, or should the Chargers re-sign Philip Rivers and hope next year is different?
Here, we examine what the team is facing, and opine about what it should do.
Chargers free agents: The organization has several high-profile players set to enter the open market, and with them comes some big decisions to make.
These five free agents have all started games and played big roles for the Chargers in recent years. Rivers is probably gone, and Gordon will almost certainly test the open market. The franchise would be smart to just move on from both of them.
Phillips, Henry and Ekeler should be retained if the price is right. They are all young and should remain core players for the organization.
Chargers draft situation: Los Angeles currently owns the No. 6 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. It’s a somewhat precarious position for a team that could be looking at a quarterback, as there are teams in front of the Chargers who will certainly be doing the same.
Here, we look at the options the Chargers would have in the first round.
Trade up: It’s costly to trade up for a quarterback, but when it’s worked out for other teams, they have the ability to make a Super Bowl push almost immediately.
With that in mind, it seems like a very risky endeavor to trade up that high, because the bidding wars will drive up the price to absurd levels. Though, the Chargers have reportedly been infatuated with Burrow since well before the season ended. And if they are completely sold on him, perhaps it’s worth it to take that huge gamble.
Settle for another QB: The perceived gap between Burrow, Tagovailoa and the rest of the pack this year is vast. However, we’ve seen perceptions smashed with a sledgehammer far too often in the NFL to assume the other quarterbacks won’t succeed.
If the Chargers were to stay put at No. 6 overall, here’s who they could consider if they pick a quarterback:
Stick with Rivers: If the Chargers believe Rivers’ 2019 campaign was an aberration, they could very well bring him back and reload the roster for a playoff run in 2020.
Here’s a few players they could select if that transpires:
There are obviously a ton of options for the Chargers in the draft, and there is more than just one round to make impact moves. But since we’re discussing whether it’s time to blow it all up and start over, it’s the first-round pick that deserves attention.
But what if they don’t go with Rivers and opt instead to hit free agency for their quarterback?
Look to another veteran: It’s been widely speculated and reported that Tom Brady could leave the New England Patriots and sign with the Chargers in free agency.
There is some risk associated with that idea, however.
In all honestly, if the Chargers are debating between Rivers and Brady, then there’s no need for Rivers to leave. The two veterans both have the ability to make big-time throws under pressure and lead a winning effort. But they both are on the decline at this point in their careers.
Other quarterbacks who could potentially be targets include Ryan Tannehill, Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, Eli Manning and Marcus Mariota. But most of these guys have either struggled in recent memory, have dealt with a decline or are simply huge risks due to turnovers.
Summarizing: The Chargers obviously have a ton of huge decisions to make. They have already decided to stick with coach Anthony Lynn, who did a fantastic job in his first two seasons at the helm before things fell apart last year.
They can easily move on from Rivers and Gordon, but the decision to start from scratch with a rookie quarterback doesn’t seem to mesh well with the overall talent on the team’s roster — especially on the defensive side of the ball.
The bottom line: Given the fact that the Chargers have elite talent on defense, can re-sign their top free agents without any real stress on the salary cap and play in the wild AFC West, where anything can happen, the notion that a full-blown rebuild should happen doesn’t seem like the best option.
Rivers is a conundrum. He was superb in his two seasons prior to the rash of turnovers that defined his 2019 campaign. But the truth is, if the Chargers are considering a rebuild, it may be better to wait one more season when Trevor Lawrence is in play. If Rivers sucks this coming season, the Chargers may be in even better shape to get what they need one year from now.
So, in the end, the Chargers probably do need to burn it all down and start from scratch. But this offseason may not be the time to do it.