Who fits and who doesn’t in Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh’s vision for the team will be determined in 2024.
Fans would undoubtedly love to see the Chargers make another playoff run, for Justin Herbert to emerge as an unquestionable top-5 quarterback, and for the team to make a Michigan-like run. However, if the team could just decide which players are essential holdovers from the Brandon Staley era and which are future members of the team, that would also be a fantastic use of the team’s time, especially if the team is entertaining to watch.
Nevertheless, the Chargers have to bid farewell to players who were previously integral members of the team or even just an unfit free agent trying to sign with his fourth team in as many seasons, with each new player they bring to town.
3. The Leatherwood, Alex
While most teams had a Day 2, if not a Day 3 grade on the Alabama product, the Las Vegas Raiders once had such high hopes for Alex Leatherwood that they selected him 17th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Granted, a lot of that may have been due to Mike Mayock’s unconventional decision-making, as the Raiders chose to terminate Leatherwood’s contract the following January. Nevertheless, despite his reputation, Leatherwood only played one season in Las Vegas before the Chicago Bears claimed him off waivers for the 2022 campaign.
Before being cut again in August of 2023, Leatherwood played in four games for the Bears without making a start, the emotional burden of being a team’s first-round loss having left him behind. After that, in 2023, Leatherwood joined the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns. In May of 2024, he joined the Chargers, where he is presently vying for a roster reserve place.
Could Leatherwood work things out, earn a spot on the roster going forward, and turn around his career as a swing tackle or guard? Maybe, but it’s as possible that the Chargers will trade Leatherwood to a different team that is prepared to take a chance on the 25-year-old and give up a conditional third-round pick in order to avoid having to compete for his services on the waiver wire.
2. Third-party Trey Pipkins
Keeping things aggressive, Trey Pipkins III was essentially put on the clock in the blue, yellow, and white when the front office selected Joe Alt at pick six instead of Rome Odunze and Brock Bowers.
Pipkins III, a former third-round selection out of Sioux Falls, has established himself as a valuable member of the Chargers since making his debut in 2019. Over the course of the previous two seasons, he has started 41 games and appeared in 69 games as the team’s top right tackle, earning a three-year, $21.75 million extension to be the long-term starter.
Had Pipkins been the starting quarterback opposite Rashawn Slater, would the Chargers have been okay? Fans will probably continue to debate the choice to choose Alt fifth overall over the other options available, just like they did for months before over the Ja’Marr Chase-Penei Sewell discussion that is still going strong in Cincinnati today.
Pipkins III is suddenly a very costly bench warmer because Alt is certain to start at right tackle for the squad.
The Chargers may consider trading Pipkins III to a team in need if a player like Foster Sarell or even Leatherwood can demonstrate that they are reliable backups for Slater and Alt.
1. Parham, Donald Jr.
Following a string of trades that included Antonio Gates, Hunter Henry, Jared Cook, and ten Gerald Everett, the Chargers opened the season with a very youthful tight end group, with Herbert’s most consistent target at the position being Donald Parham Jr.
Thankfully, the Chargers made the decision to heavily target the position in free agency. After adding Hayden Hurst from the Carolina Panthers and Will Dissly from the Seattle Seahawks, they now have arguably the deepest roster in the AFC, especially with Stone Smartt bringing up the rear.
Although having a strong group like this is generally a positive thing, Parham Jr. of the Chargers is undoubtedly the most disposable tight end on the team given his fair salary and solid experience history.
Since Parham’s contract is slated to expire at the end of the current campaign, who knows? If he doesn’t get much playing time, perhaps another team will be prepared to part with a Day 3 pick in exchange for his services, giving them a chance to hire the 6-foot-8 pass catcher before he heads out on free agency the following spring.
