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Jim Harbaugh is officially the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, and a new era has begun for Justin Herbert's team. The Chargers are coming off a disappointing 5-12 season, and Harbaugh will be required to fix plenty of things to make them a contender.
Nick Wright is someone who is well-versed in the Chargers' situation. He recently discussed how Harbaugh has a tough task up ahead, as the Chargers' cap situation could make things very tough for the new head coach.
Wright said:
"I am not one of the loud Justin Herbert critics. I think he's an A-minus quarterback. What's frustrating is he was an A-minus quarterback his rookie season, not for a rookie, but just amongst quarterbacks was an A-minus and I think he has stayed that way since then.
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"Jim Harbaugh is a great coach, there's no doubt about it. and it is another great coach in the AFC West… the Chargers cap situation is a disaster because they went all in and they went all in on Herbert during his rookie deal, which was smart, but they wasted it.
"I do think he's an excellent coach. I just think the Chargers are overrated talent-wise before they had to cut all these guys they're gonna have to cut and now they're gonna have to cut all these players."
Nick Wright said the team will have to let go of Mike Williams or Keenan Allen prior to the season as they will collectively incur a cap hit of $67 million next season.
Wright also mentioned how difficult it will be to keep Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa together on the team beyond the upcoming season. The dynamic defensive tandem will have a cap hit of $74 million in 2025, which will be challenging to manage given that Justin Herbert just agreed to a $262.5 million, five-year extension.
Jim Harbaugh will have some tough decisions to make
The Los Angeles Chargers will enter the 2024 offseason $44 million over the cap. A lot of their star players could be a cap casualty as the team enters a new era with Jim Harbaugh as their head coach.
The Chargers do have the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and they could possibly draft another wide receiver or Brock Bowers with that pick. Keenan Allen will be 32-year-old by the team the next season starts and he is a prime candidate to get released by the team.
Here are the top five Chargers players with the biggest cap hit for the next season:
- Khalil Mack - $38.5 million
- Joey Bosa - $36.6 million
- Keenan Allen - $34.7 million
- Mike Williams - $32.46 million
- Derwin James - $19.8 million (As per Spotrac)
It wouldn't be a surprise if the Chargers and Jim Harbaugh are left without at least two of the aforementioned players when the new season starts in September 2024.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit First Things First and H/T Sportskeeda.
