Los Angeles Chargers: Possible one-year replacements for Hunter Henry
By Jason Reed
Julius Thomas
The Los Angeles Chargers are no strangers to signing former Denver Broncos to contracts. Virgil Green is the latest former Bronco to be signed by the team along with left tackle Russell Okung. Heck, the Chargers even hired the Broncos offensive coordinator, Mike McCoy, to be the head coach. After he was fired, McCoy headed back to Denver to get fired again.
Thus, it is safe to say that the Chargers are comfortable signing their old foes. The team could repeat their old ways by bringing in former Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas.
Thomas’ career was never the same after he left Denver and after one two years with the Jacksonville Jaguars was traded to the Miami Dolphins. Although he signed a two-year deal, Thomas was cut by the Dolphins after being placed on the IR in December.
Thomas is not the same player that could catch for 700 yards as he was for Peyton Manning. However, for Philip Rivers, Thomas could give 400-500 yards and be a big-bodied threat in the red zone. At the very least, the Chargers would be able to pick up another threat within 20 yards of the end zone.
Thomas is no longer a vertical threat and will not drastically improve the passing game by any stretch. However, he is an experienced tight end that could feed off of Philip Rivers.