Los Angeles Chargers: Early roster predictions for the 2020 season
By Samuel Teets
Who will make the Los Angeles Chargers final roster for the 2020 season?
After an impressive 12-4 season in 2018, the Los Angeles Chargers came out flat in 2019. The team went 5-11 and landed a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft. However, masterful navigation of the 2020 offseason has the Chargers in position to contend for a playoff spot again. With their remade roster, the Chargers could reach ten wins in 2020.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), NFL teams can dress 48 active players on game day instead of 46. The CBA also allows two practice squad players to be elevated to the team’s active roster per week, increasing the standard roster size from 53 players to 55. For a full breakdown of the new CBA’s rules, check out Dan Graziano‘s article on ESPN.
The Chargers targeted their biggest needs in free agency and the draft. Now, Los Angeles possesses one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. We’ll see if Anthony Lynn’s staff can help propel this collection of talent to the playoffs.
Quarterbacks (3): Justin Herbert, Easton Stick, Tyrod Taylor
Of the three teams that drafted quarterbacks in the top ten selections this year, the Chargers have the most interesting quarterback room. Los Angeles used the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on Oregon’s Justin Herbert. The 22-year-old threw for 3,471 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions in his final collegiate season.
Herbert walks into a quarterback room that already features Tyrod Taylor. The veteran started for the Buffalo Bills for three seasons, including a Pro Bowl campaign in 2015, before signing with the Cleveland Browns. However, Baker Mayfield quickly supplanted Taylor as the team’s starter, and Taylor signed with the Chargers last year.
Taylor is in the second year of a two-year deal worth $11 million. It’s highly unlikely he and the Chargers reach an extension this season because it doesn’t make much sense for either party. If Taylor wants to pursue a starting job, he’s better off looking for a team without a young quarterback. For the Chargers, if the team wants Herbert as the starter, there’s no point in paying a costly backup.
Right now, Taylor seems set to open the year as Los Angeles’ starter. However, we could see a repeat of his time in Cleveland, with a high-ranking rookie taking over as the starter early in the year.
Given some of the uncertainty at the position, I think the Chargers keep Easton Stick around for the 2020 season. Some teams only keep two quarterbacks on the roster, but Los Angeles usually keeps three. Stick also made the roster last season, and I don’t believe adding Herbert alters the team’s view about Stick as a necessary backup.