In less ridiculous news, here's a summary of their offseason.
Notable free agent additions: NT Brandon Mebane, CB Casey Hayward, WR Travis Benjamin, S Dwight Lowery, OG/C Matt Slauson
Notable free agent departures: TE Ladarius Green, CB Patrick Robinson, S Eric Weddle
Trades: None
That's a pretty good free agency haul but not enough to improve the Chargers season enough to reach the playoffs. I really wanted us to land Weddle but that is just not the Panthers MO. The Chargers are the weak sister in the division featuring three legit playoff contenders: Broncos, Chiefs, and the upstart Raiders. WR Travis Benjamin is a good, fast young WR. He should have a career year in SD with Phillips Rivers throwing to him. Especially with WR Stevie Johnson out for the time being with a knee injury.
Draft picks expected to contribute as rookies: DE Joey Bosa will start at the 5-tech in the base defense, TE Hunter Henry will see a ton of time in 2 TE sets, LB Joshua Perry will challenge Manti Te’o for playing time
Biggest offseason addition: OG/C Matt Slauson
So I guess they are hoping Bosa doesn't need any actual practice before he takes the field?
Biggest storyline heading into training camp: Not football-related, it’s still "will this be the Chargers’ last season in San Diego?" Slightly more football-related, it’s "will Joey Bosa get signed in time for training camp or will he continue to holdout?"
We wrote up these summaries over a month ago and we are still waiting for his signing. Makes me appreciate our front office that much more.
Under-the-radar storyline heading into training camp: The return of Ken Whisenhunt as offensive coordinator should see a return to the quick passing game that allowed Philip Rivers to flourish previously.
If they can protect Rivers then he could be fantasy gold. Even so I doubt the defense is good enough to keep them from having to play catch up a lot.
Notable injuries heading into training camp: OG/C Chris Watt will miss time due to surgery (roster spot could be threatened). RB Melvin Gordon is still recovering from offseason surgery (though appears on schedule)
I really thought Gordon was going to tear it up last season as a rookie but he just couldn't get it going, averaging only 3.5 yards per carry. It didn't help that the Chargers had to abandon the running game early in many of their games, limiting his carries to 10 to 16. Gordon might be another one that benefits from having Whisenhunt as OC. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, having caught 33 passes last season.