Chargers let star pass-rusher Odafe Oweh hit free agency, betting on his return despite immense defensive needs and cap space leverage.
Up until this morning, I thought there was a pretty good chance the Los Angeles Chargers would eat up some of their cap space (third most in the NFL!) by placing the franchise tag on Odafe Oweh.
After all, Oweh was a dominant pass-rusher for the Chargers after they acquired him mid-season from the Baltimore Ravens, picking up 7.5 sacks in 12 games. He then topped that in the playoffs, sacking New England Patriots QB Drake Maye three times (and forcing a fumble) in an effort to keep the Patriots off the board.
However, the deadline for the Chargers to place any kind of tag on Oweh passed earlier this afternoon. A handful of players did get a transition tag or a non-exclusive franchise tag placed on them, making it far less likely that they leave via free agency.
The Chargers could've placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Oweh, which would've allowed them to match any offer he gets in free agency. If they decided against matching his best offer, the team that signed Oweh would have to send two 1st round draft picks to the Chargers in return, which feels like it would almost never happen.
For Los Angeles to miss this deadline completely and let Oweh, along with Khalil Mack, waltz into free agency while seemingly every team in the NFL is looking for help at edge rusher...it says that they are confident that they can sign him to an extension without the threat of a tag looming overhead.
Now, things can change. Oweh might be interested in joining Jesse Minter back on the Baltimore Ravens, choosing to team up with his former defensive coordinator on the team he formerly played for. Or maybe he gets a huge offer from one of the few teams that has more cap space than the Chargers, like the Tennessee Titans.
But considering how important the upcoming season appears to be, and how much of this offseason seems to be focused on rebuilding a broken offense (and offensive line), I'm going to hope that the Chargers have Oweh all but locked in and they aren't ignoring him in favor of agenda items they deem to be more important.
Losing Oweh and Mack this offseason would be a massive blow to the Chargers pass rush and defense overall. It would create a hole on the defense that would be easy for opponents to take advantage of and easy for fans to see.
Now, without a backup plan, the Chargers will likely have to use their overwhelming cap space to win a free agent bidding war for Odafe's services.