5 Chargers Leaving L.A. in the New Year
2. Joshua Palmer, WR
The Chargers made a lot of changes in the WR room this past offseason. They released Mike Williams and traded Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears. During the 2024 NFL Draft, Los Angeles added WR Ladd McConkey in the second round and he's been a terrific pick. He leads the team in targets (104), receptions (77), and receiving yards (1,054) with seven touchdowns.
McConkey has established himself as Justin Herbert's No. 1 target. While that was great to see as fans, fellow WR Joshua Palmer is someone who could be searching for a new home this offseason.
Palmer was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and has been a solid but not a game-breaking weapon in the aerial attack. In 59 career games, the Tennessee product has 182 catches (282 targets) for 2,287 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
This season, Palmer has 584 receiving yards and 28 receptions for a first down but is going to be an unrestricted free agent this spring.
He'll be looking to cash in on his first major payday and may seek to get that outside of Los Angeles.
The Chargers are expected to have around $74 million available in cap space per Spotrac so they'll have the funds to bring him back, but they could go for fences and sign the top WR on the market (Tee Higgins). If that's the case, Palmer may be on the way out of the town.
3. Hayden Hurst, TE
Los Angeles made two additions to the tight end room in the offseason. In March, they signed TE Will Dissly to a three-year, $24 million deal. He was known for being a stellar run blocker who can give the team a solid weapon.
This season, he has notched 45 catches for 439 yards and one touchdown. In addition, he has a 68.8 overall and a 72.2 pass-blocking grade per PFF.
Dissly has been solid and Los Angeles also added Hayden Hurst in the offseason. Hurst inked a one-year, $1.125 million deal as a free agent but the 31-year-old has been ineffective. Across eight games with the Chargers, Hurst has eight receptions for 73 yards.
At one point this season, Hurst was placed on IR due to a hip injury. He's recorded 168 snaps in 2024, which is third among tight ends. Many people expected the South Carolina product to be the main pass-catcher in that room but that failed to happen.
With Hurst slated to become a free agent this offseason, the Chargers may let him walk during free agency instead of bringing him back. They made a dart throw on an athletic tight end but things didn't work out. And that happens sometimes.