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Chargers Trade Rumors: Jim Harbaugh & Co’s $45 Million Restriction Set to Trigger Massive Contract Decisions

Published 02/08/2024, 1:00 PM EST

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Seems that removing the tag of ‘cheap’ proved to be a little too costly to the Chargers. Now they have ended up in a tough situation. Jim Harbaugh is faced with the first crisis in his Chargers’ head coaching journey. The team has some serious financial restrictions to implement as they have gone overboard with staff contracts. Resulting in Jim Harbaugh and Dean Spanos ending up spending more than their salary cap of $45 million for the 2024 season. Because of the team’s effective cap space, which includes the top 51 players, and the expected rookie class’s finances, the Chargers are projected to exceed the limit by roughly $55 million.

This, along with the impending roster modification, is a serious and immediate concern for the Chargers. This will mean only one thing: contract restructuring or cutting down on roster expectations. Previous season’s general manager Tom Telesco had already restructured the contracts of vital players like Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Keenan Allen, and Mike Williams. This season, however, all of them are due for large salary caps. Star player Joey Bosa is due $25.36M, edge rusher Khalil Mack for $38.517 million, receiver Keenan Allen for $34.717 million, and receiver Mike Williams for $32.46 million. All cap figures will simply be over the Cap unless noted otherwise.

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The solution that the Chargers have arrived at? Rumor has it that Joey Bosa is up for a trade, along with Mack and Fox. Many reports, like NFL Draft Bite, suggest that the Chargers would heavily consider trading a veteran player like Bosa to the Cowboys, but might have to go ahead with Mack and Morgan Fox, per the reports. But if Jim Harbaugh decides to reserve Morgan Fox, and free up the others, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Fox costs 8 times less than players like Mack, per Bolt Beat, freeing up a good cap from their already restricted budget. General manager Joe Hortiz has another standpoint on it.

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Joe Hortiz’s stern warning to the players

“We have a cap and that’s the reality of it and you have to adjust and manage around the cap,” bluntly asserted Hortiz. Hence, only those who bring something worthwhile for the team on the table would be retained. “What’s the value they bring to the organization’s current value and their future value?”

READ ALSO: Michigan in Shambles as Jim Harbaugh’s Exit to Chargers Exposes Chaotic Side of Wolverines’ Program

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Moreover, the ones with a declining performance in the past few seasons would be his top targets. Well, Joey Bosa has played in just 14 games in the last 2 seasons combined, making him a hot target per Hortiz’s statements.

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Written by:

Pankti Parmar

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Pankti Parmar is an NFL news writer at EssentiallySports. With an educational background in psychology and a passion for sports, she dons the coat of a sports psychologist to get a feel for players’ psyche and game tactics. She is our resident expert on Jim Harbaugh and was a huge part of our play-by-play coverage of Harbaugh’s journey from the Wolverines to the Chargers.
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Edited by:

Tripti Sarda