Chargers players quietly packed their lockers Sunday and collected Jim Harbaugh’s season-worth of gifts into plastic bags. They left autographed jerseys in their teammates’ lockers, just like classmates who signed up yearbooks after the school year, except the end came far more suddenly than any planned graduation ceremony.
After returning to the playoffs in Harbaugh’s first season, the Chargers entered an offseason with optimism for the future but struggled with the disappointment of an early exit in the AFC wild-card round.
“Obviously it’s not the way you wanted it to end,” right tackle Joe Alt said. “It’s over, but there’s a new beginning now.”
Three takeaways from the Chargers season:
Help for Justin Herbert
Justin Herbert’s struggles will be the final sour impression of the season after he had four passes intercepted against the Texans. Until he gets over the hump, Herbert’s lack of postseason success is the ultimate hurdle before he breaks through the ranks of quarterbacks.
Still, the Chargers must continue to surround their star quarterback with talent.
A record-breaking rookie season saw Ladd McConkey move ahead of former first-round pick Quentin Johnston as the Chargers’ top receiver. McConkey, a second-round draft pick in 2024, added to his franchise rookie season records for receiving yards (1,149) and catches (82) by finishing the year with 197 yards against the Texans, an NFL rookie playoff record.
Johnston took a step forward during his second professional year with 711 yards receiving and eight touchdowns during the regular season, but had a team-high 9.8% drop rate among receivers according to Pro Football Focus, exacerbating concerns about his rookie season.
Read more: Khalil Mack isn’t sure if he’ll be back with the Chargers next season
Johnston had starring moments, including a 13-catch, 186-yard outburst against the Raiders in Week 18, but was also held without a catch against the Ravens and Texans despite five targets in each of the crucial games. He had four combined drops in the games.
“The reality is you can’t go back and do it again,” Johnston said. “So sometimes you have to turn on your highlight tape and put on some good plays and remind yourself, ‘Yes, I’m capable of doing what I said I can do.’ It is clear that I was brought here for a reason.”
The big free agent signing DJ Chark Jr. never made an impact after a preseason hip injury cost him eight games. He settled for four catches for 31 yards and one touchdown during the regular season with another catch for 15 yards against the Texans. He came aboard as the Chargers’ only receiver with a 1,000-yard season under his belt and is now hitting free agency again after the quietest season of his career.
According to overthecap.com, the Chargers have over $73 million in cap space this season. The total ranks fourth in the NFL.
The offensive line will need work
The Chargers rediscovered their Pro Bowl left tackle and proved they have a future star at right tackle, but face uncertainty with their interior line.
Even at full strength, the Chargers were still unsettled outside left tackle Rashawn Slater and Alt, the team’s top rookie right tackle. They rotated Jamaree Salyer at right guard during many short-yardage or goal-line situations in place of Trey Pipkins III.
Pipkins was in his freshman year at right guard after moving from right tackle to accommodate the addition of Alt. The six-year veteran battled ankle and hip injuries during the regular season, and when an oblique injury held him back in the wild-card round, Salyer in particular struggled at his position.
The 2022 sixth-round pick out of Georgia was the Chargers’ worst-rated pass blocker in the game, according to Pro Football Focus. The Chargers gave up four sacks and nine quarterback hits to the Texans.
Read more: Houston isn’t the ‘Big Easy’ as the Texans snub the Chargers’ playoff dreams
Zion Johnson, a former first-round draft pick, and center Bradley Bozeman were the only offensive linemen to start every game this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson gave up a career-high seven sacks during the season.
Slater and Alt both praised Bozeman as the “rock” of the offensive line. Bozeman was the only starting offensive lineman with previous experience working with offensive coordinator Greg Roman, but will face free agency again this season.
“This organization will be in a great place next year whether I’m there or not,” Bozeman said Saturday evening in Houston, his voice full of emotion. “But I want to be part of that.”
Uncertain future for edge rushers
The Chargers’ edge rusher room was considered the defense’s most impressive position group heading into the season, but could look completely different in 2025. Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, who have been the anchors of the Chargers’ pass rush since Mack was acquired via trade in 2022, could both move this offseason.
Mack, 33, said he is considering retirement as he heads into his first offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Bosa did not speak to reporters on Sunday, but with a cap hit of more than $36 million, the franchise’s longest-tenured player could become a salary cap casualty, according to overthecap.com.
Read more: How the NFL and Rams worked together to reschedule the playoff game amid a tragedy in LA
The possibility of losing both star edge rushers was difficult to contemplate for second-year outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu, who said he was “blessed to have them for two years.”
The former USC star increased his sack total from 4½ as a rookie to 8½ in his second season, racking up seven sacks during a four-game stretch midseason. He stepped into the starting line-up when Bosa was sidelined with a hip injury, and if the veterans do not return next season, Tuipulotu said he would be ready to take over.
“Whatever needs to be done, I will do it. I think I showed that,” Tuipulotu said. “Whatever the coach asks of me, I will do it.”
Etc.
The Chargers signed 10 players to reserve/future contracts on Monday, keeping the players who finished the 2024 season on the practice squad as they make plans for organized team activities and next season’s training camp. The Chargers signed: guard Karsen Barnhart; tight end McCallen Castles; curators Dez Fitzpatrick and Jaylen Jonson; defensive lineman Christopher Hinton; linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste; outside linebackers Tre’Mon Morris-Brash and Caleb Murphy; running back Jaret Patterson and safety Kendall Williamson.
Get the day’s best, most interesting and strangest stories from the LA sports scene and beyond with our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.