The Los Angeles Chargers are looking down the barrel that is the 2025 offseason with plenty of resources and draft capital. However, to create the “Chargers 2.0” as Head Coach Jim Harbaugh describes it, looking at the internal group of underrated free agents first, is the best way to keep the initial “Chargers 1.0” intact enough to build off of.
When looking at the list of names that are upcoming free agents for the Bolts, you see bigger names like Poona Ford, Josh Palmer, and JK Dobbins. These would be all welcomed returns to the Chargers, especially Ford.
The thing is, everyone knows those guys are welcomed back, what about a player who may have found his home team at the age of 28? An underrated free agent that the Los Angeles Chargers can not afford to lose.
Why The Chargers Need Troy Dye Back for 2025
The Los Angeles Chargers could go right ahead and find another linebacker on the market to replace the depth signing that was Troy Dye in 2024. But to find a guy who brings the same value proposition and level of play to this team in 2025 might be very difficult, considering Dye already has built connections and knows the defense very well.
The Chargers roster currently has the breakout star, Daiyan Henley, and 2024 third-round selection, Junior Colson set to be the starters. Henley is a given, but Colson struggled mightily his rookie season, and should not be given the starting job without any competition in the building.
Colson had great expectations as a rookie, even having some defensive rookie of the year candidacy building. Unfortunately, injuries and poor play disallowed Colson to even come close to paying off those discussions.
Optimism for Colson in 2025 is still very well the case, but it would be very poor roster building and unlike the Harbaugh culture to allow him to start without no competition. Even if Colson were to win a starting job, there are currently zero linebackers behind him for depth.
The Chargers obviously need to fill out this 2025 roster, and having only two linebackers on the roster will be a position group to add bodies too. Competitors welcome.
Dye’s Extremely Underrated 2024 Season
So why is Troy Dye the Chargers underrated free agent they can not lose? He’s a career backup with 13 starts to his name, at the age of 28. While that is unimpressive, Dye has shown that he can do much more than that in the Chargers building.
The Chargers 2024 linebacker room got pummeled by injuries, forcing guys like Colson, Denzel Perryman, and Nick Niemann to stay on the field for stretches of the season, which led to Dye starting games for the Bolts. Dye did not disappoint whatsoever, playing 355 snaps whilst staying the core-four special teamer that he was signed to be.
The Statistics For Troy Dye:
- 355 Defensive Snaps
- 77.3 Rush Defense PFF Grade (24/90)
- 67.9 Tackling PFF Grade (24/90)
- 2 Sacks
- 49 Tackles (6.5% miss tackle percentage, 8th best in the league)
- 391 Special Teams Snaps (most on team)
- 71.0 Special Teams Grade (second on team)
Whether it was being a communicative leader on defense, a leader on special teams or a general strong locker room presence, the former Vikings linebacker was a welcomed fit in this Chargers defensive scheme in 2024 and will be once again in 2025.
Contract Projections for the Chargers Underrated Free Agent
With the salary cap jumping up more than expected, contracts will likely follow. That said, the Chargers underrated free agent will likely sign a contract that matches that title. The inside linebacker market is pretty low with the top-of-market earning 20 million APY, the lowest across all defensive positions.
That said, a guy like Dye will not command anything near the top, but will likely look to match previous contract evaluations that are deemed similar. An example contract signed last season is the Saints’ Willie Gay Jr. and his 1-year, 3-million dollar contract.
Gay Jr’s number still may be on the high end for Dye, so looking at what the Chargers signed linebacker running mate, Perryman to last season may be a bit more of an accurate number. Perryman signed a 1-year, 2.3 million dollar contract to be a veteran role player for this Chargers defense.
Either way, to complete the building of the “Chargers 2.0” keeping the core depth guys is a great start for the 2025 off-season. The Chargers must sign their underrated free agent to a deal before another team picks up the easy money on the ground.
Main Photo: Troy Taormina – Imagn Images
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