Los Angeles Chargers

Joey Bosa is officially a free agent.

The Los Angeles Chargers announced Wednesday they released the star pass-rusher ahead of the start of free agency. ESPN's Field Yates explained it was purely "a business move," while ESPN's Adam Schefter noted it saves the Chargers $25.4 million against the cap.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero provided more context:

To say the Chargers' pass rush could look quite different in 2025 is quite the understatement, as Bosa isn't the only headline name who could depart this offseason.

Khalil Mack is scheduled for free agency as well and could look to sign elsewhere at this stage of his career.

The Chargers selected Bosa with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2016 NFL draft, and he wasted no time establishing himself as an impact player. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in his first season behind 10.5 sacks, which was just a sign of what was to come for Los Angeles.

In nine years in the league, Bosa has five Pro Bowl selections and four seasons with double-digit sack totals. The only thing that has held him back at times is injuries, as he played just seven games in 2018, five games in 2022 and nine games in 2023.

Perhaps that durability will be a concern for potential suitors on the open market, but the Ohio State product is also just 29 years old and coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2024.

Bosa helped lead the Chargers to the playoffs last season with five sacks and two forced fumbles in 14 games. He and Mack made up a dominant one-two punch at times when they were both on the field together, and they will both surely generate plenty of interest from other teams this offseason.

As for the Chargers, this move gives them more financial flexibility ahead of free agency and then the draft.

They may look to get younger on the defensive side of the ball with Bosa and potentially Mack, 34, heading elsewhere as they attempt to close the gap in the division on the Kansas City Chiefs.

It sounds like Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh scheduled a lot of meetings that could've been emails.

The NFL Players Association released its annual team-by-team report cards Wednesday. In the Chargers' breakdown, Harbaugh ranked last in terms of players feeling he was "efficient with their time." He was only described as "moderately receptive" in how much he responded to player feedback, too.

By and large, the NFLPA report cards show the progress Los Angeles made in Harbaugh's first season. The franchise ranked 30th in 2024 and climbed all the way up to fifth.

It's night and day to compare the general culture around the Chargers before and after Harbaugh arrived.

But one of the big questions surrounding the 61-year-old was how much his demeanor has changed from when he coached the San Francisco 49ers.

The Niners had a .695 winning percentage and claimed an NFC title in Harbaugh's four seasons. However, his presence started to wear thin by the end, and the way he butted heads with general manager Trent Baalke didn't help.

One benefit for Harbaugh of coaching in college was that the roster totally turned over every few years. There wasn't the same kind of risk that players would eventually tune him out like they did in San Francisco.

On a broad scale, the NFLPA provides plenty of encouraging signs about the Chargers' direction. A more critical assessment might point to the comments about Harbaugh as something to monitor, though.

Former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is a "serious candidate" to become the New Orleans Saints' next defensive coordinator, according to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz.

The Saints have already landed on former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore as their next head coach, Schultz reported earlier Tuesday.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Staley "is a really strong, kind of a hot-shot defensive coordinator candidate" who will get a "long look" in New Orleans.

Moore previously worked with Staley when he served as the Chargers' offensive coordinator during the 2023 season.

The Chargers' offense ranked 18th in the NFL in yards and 21st in points that campaign, during which the team stumbled to a five-win finish that led to Staley's midseason dismissal.

The Saints could be hoping for better results if they pair Moore and Staley again, this time with Moore coming out of a Super Bowl-winning Eagles offense.

Staley has previous experience as an NFL defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, during which the team's defense ranked first in the NFL in both yards and points allowed.

He moved on after that to become the Chargers head coach, a job he left with a 24-24 record and no playoff wins.

The 2024 season saw Staley serving as assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, who went 6-11 and fell well short of repeating last winter's trip to the Super Bowl.

Staley reportedly isn't the only candidate for the Saints DC spot. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler previously reported that Buccaneers outside linebackers coach George Edwards, who worked with Moore during his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys, is another candidate for the position.

Fowler added that Matt Eberflus had been a potential target for Moore prior to his hiring as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator.

The Saints are looking to replace Joe Woods, who spent two seasons as the team's defensive coordinator before joining Pete Carroll's staff with the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason.

Whoever takes the job in New Orleans will be tasked with overhauling one of the least effective defensive units in the NFL last season. The team's next DC can hope the Saints will use one of their eight draft picks to target defensive talent this April.

Los Angeles Chargers veteran linebacker Khalil Mack committed to returning for the 2025 season after initially mulling retirement, and the team is reportedly hoping to avoid losing him in free agency.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported, "The sense is Los Angeles will make efforts to re-sign Mack, who will play in 2025 after he said he needed to take time to mull his future following the season. The Chargers believe he embodies the spirit of the team's toughness."

Perhaps the feeling is mutual, as Mack said earlier this month that he believed staying in Los Angeles would give him his best chance at winning if he continued his playing career.

"As long as Justin Herbert is your quarterback. You got [safety] Derwin James and all these guys that love the game of football. And Jim Harbaugh coaching?" Mack said on Jan. 12. "You know you always have a chance to win. Yeah, that's a no-brainer."

Despite the Chargers' interest in retaining Mack, Fowler noted that "many teams will be lurking for potential pass-rush help" and named the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers as possible landing spots for him.

An 11-year veteran and the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Mack is one of the best linebackers of his generation. He appeared in 16 games in 2024 and totaled 39 tackles, six sacks, nine passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He had two sacks in Los Angeles' 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Round.

Khalil Mack didn't need a lot of time after the Los Angeles Chargers' season ended to make a decision about his playing future.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Mack intends to play in 2025 and will become an unrestricted free agent in March.

After the Chargers' loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card round on Jan. 11, Mack admitted he wasn't sure if he was going to keep playing:

"Man, it's a lot of different thoughts in my head right now. I can't really speak on a definitive decision in terms of what I'm going to do because I don't know if I'm going to play football moving forward, so there's some things I got to talk through with my wife, spend some time with my kids and try not to make a rash decision after a loss."

This was a different tone than Mack had coming into the 2024 season. He told reporters in July when asked if he was thinking about retirement that they just needed to "turn on the film" because he was "rolling."

A lot of things change in six months, especially after the grind of a regular season and devastation of losing in the playoffs, but Mack is still capable of being an impact player.

Mack was the best edge player on the Chargers this season by PFF grade. He finished with 15 quarterback hits, six sacks and six tackles for loss in 16 starts.

One area in which Mack continues to excel is against the run. He had the best run defense grade among all edge players this season by PFF metrics (91.6).

This offseason will mark the first time in Mack's career that he will be a true free agent. He restructured his contract for the 2024 season to remain with the Chargers.

Mack, who will turn 34 on Feb. 22, has been incredibly durable since joining the Chargers in March 2022. He has only missed one game in the past three seasons and recorded a career-high 17 sacks in 2023.

The Los Angeles Chargers are potentially just a move or two away from being contenders, and one NFL coach had a suggestion for the team this offseason.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, an NFL coordinator said the Chargers should trade for Seattle Seahawks star receiver DK Metcalf.

"The Seahawks can still get good value for him, and he could pair with Ladd McConkey for a good inside-out tandem," the coordinator said. "[Justin] Herbert to Metcalf would be scary. I think [Los Angeles] will be looking to help the quarterback in a big way."

As the coordinator noted, the Chargers already have an elite receiver in Ladd McConkey, who Los Angeles picked 34th overall in the 2024 draft. As a rookie, McConkey collected 1,149 receiving yards and seven touchdowns to lead the team.

His best game of the season came in the Chargers' wild-card loss to the Houston Texans when he notched 197 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions.

Metcalf had a solid year with the Seahawks, picking up 992 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 15 games.

With McConkey as the Chargers' No. 1 option and Metfcalf playing the WR2 role, Los Angeles could finally give Justin Herbert the star power he needs to lead the team to playoff success.

Jim Harbaugh went to bat for his quarterback after fans criticized Justin Herbert for his performance in the Los Angeles Chargers' wild-card loss to the Houston Texans.

Harbaugh said the criticism is unwarranted and that the coaching staff is more to blame than the quarterback.

Harbaugh told reporters:

Completely unfair. I wouldn't spend two more seconds thinking about what happened in that game. It didn't go good, and that's on me, that's my responsibility, that's my accountability. I really felt going into that tournament that we were as good as the best teams in the playoffs. Not just as good as any team, but as good as the best teams in the playoffs... We did him a disservice and didn't put him in the positions to be successful enough, but he played like a beast. … There's nobody in this entire organization who gives more blood, sweat and tears and contributes more, produces more for the entire organization than Justin Herbert.

Herbert had a strong year after his 2023 season was cut short due to an injury. He threw for 3,870 yards, 23 touchdowns and just three interceptions, adding 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.

A good year from Herbert was marred by his performance in the playoffs. He threw for 242 yards and a touchdown but gave up four interceptions in the 32-12 loss. One of his interceptions was a 38-yard pick-six that gave the Texans a 20-6 lead heading into halftime.

Herbert, who just wrapped up his fifth season in the NFL, is now 0-2 in the postseason. His other loss came in 2022 when Los Angeles lost 31-30 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs.

But Herbert's two playoff losses haven't diminished the Chargers' respect for him. Along with Harbaugh, general manager Joe Hortiz defended Herbert, pointing to several other great quarterbacks who struggled in the playoffs early in their careers.

"I hear the narrative and all that, but there's a lot of great quarterbacks in this league that may not have had the ideal start to their playoff career," Hortiz said. "Peyton Manning was 0-3 his first five years. Lamar Jackson's, it was 0-2. So if we're going to set a narrative on Justin off of two playoff games, that's absurd. What I watch this guy do, he's phenomenal, he's a phenomenal competitor, leader, playmaker. We'll roll with him. They're gonna roll me outta here before they roll him outta here, I can promise you that. He's special, and special things are ahead for him. Book it."

Herbert isn't going anywhere, as he's under contract through the 2029 season, and it seems Los Angeles has no desire to part with him. Instead, the Chargers will look to build around the star quarterback as they look to find success in Year 2 of the Harbaugh era.

Jim Harbaugh will have multiple procedures to address his health following his first season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

ESPN's Kris Rhim reported Wednesday that Harbaugh, who previously said he would not retire because of health issues, said he will undergo a cardiac ablation and hip replacement surgery this offseason.

The hip surgery will address his significant limp that is apparent when walking.

As for the cardiac ablation, it comes after he temporarily left his team's Week 6 game against the Denver Broncos because of an atrial flutter. Rhim explained the atrial flutter is an arrhythmia that leads to the heart beating abnormally high.

Harbaugh was treated by paramedics in the locker room but returned to coach the rest of the game. He also wore a heart monitor for two weeks during the 2024 campaign.

Rhim noted it was his first flare up since the 2012 season when he was coaching the San Francisco 49ers and felt an irregular heartbeat during a game against the Chicago Bears.

This comes after Los Angeles saw its season come to an end with a 32-12 loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round on Saturday.

Despite the playoff loss, it was still a successful first season for Harbaugh as the head coach. The Chargers' 11 wins were their most since the 2018 campaign, and they also made the playoffs for just the second time since that season.

Jim Harbaugh's makeover of the Los Angeles Chargers was both swift and successful. Before his hire, the team went 5-12 in the 2023 season, leading to the midseason firing of Brandon Staley.

But this year the Chargers were 11-6 and reached the postseason. While their playoff hopes ended in disappointing fashion on Saturday against the Houston Texans, there's no doubt that Harbaugh has steered the ship in a positive direction.

"They need to build out their defense to be more athletic, and the same is true with the receivers," an NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. "This season was a testament to Harbaugh's vision, his leadership and the identity he brings to them. They have not had that for a long time. They tasted success and will spend the money. I think they have a clearer path than they had previously."

More good news for the Chargers as they head into the offseason—the team is scheduled to have around $77.9 million in cap space ahead of the 2025 campaign, per Spotrac, the fourth most in the NFL. That could give them the wiggle room to offer a top free agent like wide receiver Tee Higgins a major deal, making Justin Herbert's life easier in the process.

The future appears to be bright under Harbaugh, who has had success at every stop in his coaching career. But an aggressive approach to the offseason would bolster the rebuild.