Odafe Oweh's surprising late-season surge ignites a high-stakes decision. Should the Chargers commit big to the enigmatic edge rusher's breakout potential?
I have been transfixed by Odafe Oweh's free agency since late in the regular season. I'm not sure anyone in the league, and definitely nobody on the Los Angeles Chargers, has a more interesting situation in front of them.
ESPN has noticed the situation as well, and wrote about most of it when talking about whether or not the Chargers should slap Oweh with the franchise tag:
When the Chargers traded for Oweh in October, he was a struggling edge rusher with zero sacks through five games, looking like a player who had failed to live up to the potential that made him a first-round pick by Baltimore in 2021.
That quickly changed in L.A. Oweh finished with 7.5 sacks in 12 games with the Chargers and closed the season by setting a franchise playoff record with three sacks and two forced fumbles in the Chargers' playoff loss to the Patriots.
At 27, Oweh appears to be one of the league's most promising edge rushers, but the projected tag number of $27.8 million could be too steep for the GM Joe Hortiz if the sides can't agree to a deal at a lower figure.
That does a pretty good job of explaining why the Chargers might or might not put the franchise tag on Oweh, but I'm more intrigued by the player's perspective.
After being drafted in the 1st round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Oweh put up three seasons worth of pedestrian pass rushing numbers under Mike Macdonald in Baltimore (the same guy who just won the Super Bowl as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks).
It wasn't until Zach Orr took over the Ravens defense in 2024 that Oweh found success, piling up 10 sacks in just 10 starts. However, it was still Orr's defense in 2025 that Oweh found himself in when he got off to such a slow start that he was traded to the Chargers.
Jesse Minter, now the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, found a way to accentuate Oweh's strengths and hide his weaknesses. He's also probably looking for a replacement for Kyle Van Noy as an impactful edge rusher on the Ravens defense. If I were Oweh, I would at least want to have a conversation with Minter (and Anthony Weaver) about it.
Also, if the Chargers want to talk with Oweh about something more than a one-year deal, they'll need to have him talk with new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary about how he'll be used in the defense.
The thing about a player like Oweh, who does one specific thing very well in one specific way, is that context is going to be everything for his career. If he's in control of the destination, it is on him and his agent to find a situation that will play the best for his talents and future.
If the Chargers were rolling out the same defensive staff next season, it might be easier to shut down a wandering eye on the part of Oweh, but with change at the top (not to mention the likely loss of Khalil Mack), it might be too chaotic for any solution other than the franchise tag.
According to Spotrac, a franchise tag would pay Oweh $27.5M in 2026. That would put an awful lot of the team's hopes for next year on the shoulders of Oweh, so I understand the team's hesitancy, as well. For comparison, $27.5M is what the Chargers paid for both Oweh and Mack combined last season.
I think the answer will be that the Chargers have to use the franchise tag on Oweh to avoid a catastrophic situation, but that doesn't mean that it's the obvious right move (or an easy decision) for them to make.