The San Diego Los Angeles Chargers of Carson played 2017 in a soccer stadium, which tells you all you need to know about the current disaster state of the franchise as a whole. They skipped town on San Diego to go play in front of literally dozens of people just outside Los Angeles. Outside of disastrous business decisions, the organization itself is extremely healthy. They missed the playoffs in 2017, mostly due to kicking woes and Classic Chargering. A disaster draft leaves them without some key players returning in 2018. The original draft had over twenty players staying, so some hard cuts were made to get the team down to sixteen players protected.
Lost to Free Agency: Antonio Gates, Matt Slauson, Tre Boston
The No Doubters:
| Player | POS. | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Philip Rivers | QB | $22,000,000 | $23,000,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Melvin Ingram | OLB | $13,875,000 | $18,625,000 | $16,625,000 | UFA | – |
| Keenan Allen | WR | $9,650,000 | $10,150,000 | $10,650,000 | UFA | – |
| Joey Bosa | DE | $7,056,459 | $8,232,538 | – | UFA | – |
| Casey Hayward | CB | $5,083,334 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Mike Williams | WR | $4,488,620 | $5,386,344 | $6,284,068 | – | UFA |
| Melvin Gordon | RB | $3,394,929 | – | UFA | – | – |
| Forrest Lamp | G | $1,515,209 | $1,818,251 | $2,121,293 | UFA | – |
| Hunter Henry | TE | $1,740,083 | $2,030,100 | UFA | – | – |
| Desmond King | S | $624,998 | $714,998 | $804,998 | UFA | – |
The Chargers are an extremely, extremely top-heavy organization, with three “elite” players on defense per Pro Football Focus charting (Ingram, Bosa and Hayward). Add in their offensive core with Rivers/Allen/Williams/Henry/Gordon and you have a nice start. From there, you round out the no doubters with Forrest Lamp, who was hurt before his rookie season and cheap and good Desmond King. These guys aren’t going anywhere anytime soon (though Hayward is getting paid in 2019).
The More-Than-Likely Staying:
| Player | POS. | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Russell Okung | LT | $14,968,750 | $16,000,000 | $16,000,000 | UFA | – |
| Corey Liuget | DT | $9,500,000 | $10,250,000 | $9,500,000 | UFA | – |
| Jahleel Addae | SS | $5,500,000 | $6,000,000 | $6,500,000 | UFA | – |
| Brandon Mebane | DT | $5,500,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Denzel Perryman | ILB | $1,519,788 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Austin Ekeler | RB | $556,666 | $646,668 | RFA | – | – |
Russell Okung flamed out of Denver in short order thanks to an inability to stay healthy, which is a chronic issue with him (chronic idiocy in not having an agent is also a problem with him). Liuget, Addae, Mebane and Perryman are the Very Good second tier of Chargers defensive players that deserve to stick around. I, personally, really like Austin Ekeler because he did exciting things towards the end of the season. Plus, Melvin Gordon needs someone to spell him when he’s only getting like 3.5 yards per carry. If you disagree, oh well, make your own disaster draft list. Ekeler stays!
The Leftovers:
These poor saps picked up and moved from San Diego to Los Angeles, only to be tossed in the trash like they deserve as Los Angelinos. The Conquistadors and Arches get to pick through the remains of the Chargers roster to find something of value.
| Player | POS. | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Jason Verrett | CB | $8,526,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Travis Benjamin | WR | $7,000,000 | $6,500,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Joe Barksdale | RT | $5,706,250 | $6,300,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Damion Square | DT | $2,612,500 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Chris Hairston | LT | $1,525,000 | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Windt | LS | $1,070,000 | $1,085,000 | $1,200,000 | UFA | – |
| Dan Feeney | G | $865,158 | $1,024,158 | $1,146,158 | UFA | – |
| Kyle Emanuel | OLB | $759,643 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Darius Philon | DE | $735,149 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Rayshawn Jenkins | S | $720,552 | $810,552 | $900,553 | UFA | – |
| Craig Mager | CB | $705,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Hayes Pullard | ILB | $705,000 | UFA | – | – | – |
| Jatavis Brown | ILB | $676,096 | $766,097 | UFA | – | – |
| Drew Kaser | P | $668,456 | $758,457 | UFA | – | – |
| Kenneth Farrow | RB | $631,668 | RFA | – | – | – |
| Spencer Pulley | C | $630,668 | RFA | – | – | – |
| Chris Landrum | OLB | $630,000 | RFA | – | – | – |
| Cardale Jones | QB | $630,000 | $720,000 | UFA | – | – |
| Sam Tevi | T | $595,447 | $685,447 | $775,450 | UFA | – |
| Sean Culkin | TE | $559,000 | $649,000 | RFA | – | – |
| Charmeachealle Moore | OLB | $558,333 | $648,334 | RFA | – | – |
| Michael Davis | CB | $555,000 | $645,000 | RFA | – | – |
| Isaac Rochell | DT | $555,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Roberto Aguayo | K | $555,000 | $645,000 | RFA | – | – |
| Nick Rose | K | $555,000 | ERFA | – | – | – |
| Donavan Clark | G | $501,524 | $741,524 | UFA | – | – |
| Jeff Richards | CB | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Whitney Richardson | DE | $480,000 | $5,700,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Brett Boyko | G | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Cole Toner | G | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Anthony Kukwa | LS | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| James Onwualu | OLB | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| A.J. Hendy | S | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Braedon Bowman | TE | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Andre Patton | WR | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
| Artavis Scott | WR | $480,000 | $570,000 | ERFA | – | – |
Header Photo Credit: Random guy on Twitter
