Being traded to the Chargers shortly before last season, Elijah Molden became one of the pieces that helped Jesse Minter‘s defense climb to No. 1. The Bolts will keep this partnership going.
Molden is staying in Los Angeles via a new three-year contract, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. The second-generation NFL DB was on the verge of free agency, but the Chargers evidently made him a good enough offer to pass on the open market. The team has since announced the move.
The deal is worth $18.75MM and includes $13.5MM guaranteed, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports. This checks in just north of the contract fellow Bolts safety Alohi Gilman signed last March, as the Chargers continue to commit resources to the safety position.
The son of former Chargers cornerback Alex Molden, Elijah arrived as a late-August trade acquisition from the Titans. The sent only a 2026 seventh-round pick for the contract-year player, who made Tennessee’s 53-man roster but did not stay long after that deadline. Molden, however, showed growth in L.A. and helped the team rebound to make the playoffs.
Seeing more time at safety, the former Titans cornerback joined Gilman and Derwin James in Minter’s three-safety looks and finished the season with a career-high three interceptions. Molden, 26, also deflected a career-best seven passes while eclipsing his previous best with 75 tackles as well. Grading him much better against the pass than the run, Pro Football Focus tabbed the former third-round pick as the No. 16 overall safety last season.
The Chargers obtained two ex-Titan DB pieces last year, signing Kristian Fulton as well. Molden had joined Fulton as a Day 2 pick during former Tennessee GM Jon Robinson‘s tenure, which was filled with lofty CB investments that did not ultimately satisfy the organization. Although Molden was a regular who saw extensive time in the slot while in Nashville, he topped out at a 68% snap share during his three seasons there. After playing 15 games with the Titans in 2023, a new coaching staff signed off on dealing him. That trade ultimately sent the 5-foot-10 defender to a team that had longer-term plans for him.
This deal comes weeks after Molden suffered a season-ending broken fibula. His absence certainly hurt in a one-sided wild-card loss to the Texans. In signing him weeks before free agency, the Chargers clearly have no concerns Molden will be ready well before next season. This deal also gives the Bolts three veteran contracts at safety, with James still the league’s second-highest-paid player at the position and Gilman having been re-signed (on a two-year, $10.13MM deal) early in Jim Harbaugh‘s tenure.
The respective free agencies of Fulton and Asante Samuel Jr. leave the Bolts with some questions to answer at corner, but they are loaded up at safety ahead of the Harbaugh-Minter combo’s second season. Molden, who joined the Chargers 23 years after his father’s two-season San Diego stay wrapped, will keep going in Minter’s system as the Bolts attempt to hold off the Broncos and mount a legitimate challenge to the Chiefs in the AFC West next season.