The Los Angeles Chargers have yet to get too involved in free agency to this point, using the legal tampering period to assess their situation a bit deeper. The team did make a big deal with Najee Harris, a player who gives Jim Harbaugh the chance to implement his kind of in-your-face rushing attack.
Justin Herbert would love to see the team bring in some help for him in the passing game and the Chargers are going to need to add some help at the wide receiver position, that is all there is to it if they want to go further than they did last year.
Joshua Palmer has already left in free agency, agreeing to a deal with the Buffalo Bills. Arguably, the No. 1 wide receiver still on the free-agent market is a player who played for the Bills last season, Amari Cooper. Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut has predicted that the Chargers will create a virtual Palmer for Cooper tried by signing the veteran wide receiver.
“The Los Angeles Chargers probably never wanted to sacrifice the draft capital and cap space needed to land DK Metcalf. As for Davante Adams, he just seemed to prefer what the Los Angeles Rams had to offer better. Fortunately, Amari Cooper is still available. He wasn’t productive after being traded to the Buffalo Bills – 297 receiving yards in 8 games – and he is entering his age-31 season. However, Cooper is still a very good route runner and his ability to get open would provide Justin Herbert with another reliable target in the short and intermediate areas of the field. Plus, he brings a mentality that Jim Harbaugh wants in the Chargers locker room”, wrote Johnson.
Cooper probably won’t find a better potential landing spot than what he could get in LA. He would see a ton of targets as the only other productive wide receiver on the roster is Ladd McConkey, he would come to a team that has a chance to contend and he would have a chance to catch passes from one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
All of those things also exist in Buffalo, but it seems increasingly unlikely that he will re-sign with them.
The Chargers should be working on putting together a deal to land the 30-year-old wide receiver (31 in June). Cooper has over 10,000 career receiving yards and 64 touchdowns. If the Chargers don’t land Cooper, the best options available are Stefon Diggs, Cooper Kupp or a potential reunion with Keenan Allen.
It gets extremely thin after that.
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