Free Agency Recap

(Important) Players Lost

I left off all the guys that didn't play major roles in 2012, because many of them are still free agents and could end up back on the team in a training camp battle of sorts. Still, losing 5 guys would hurt if it weren't so obvious who the replacements were. From this point forward, I'll list each new player with he player they're replacing next to them.

Players Signed

That's a lot of signings. It's possible that I even missed a couple. The main point is that the Chargers filled all the major holes that they had through free agency and added some veteran leadership. They essentially went into the draft with a team equal to what they had in 2011. Anything they added would be an improvement.







Draft Recap





Players Drafted













Summary





The thing that killed the 2011 Chargers wasn't a lack of talent, necessarily. It was Philip Rivers going through a "tough stretch", although he was probably injured. It was the offensive line falling to pieces. It was Mike Tolbert's fumbles, a lack of a pass-rush and an incompetent Defensive Coordinator.





A.J. Smith very obviously went into this offseason with a good plan and executed it to perfection. He patched the holes, improved the team through free agency, and then added toys to the cabinet of Norv and Pagano through the draft. You really can't ask for anything better than that.



