The Chargers have signed another member of their 2026 draft class.
The NFL’s transaction report for Monday shows that the team has signed second-round pick Jake Slaughter. He is the sixth of their eight selections to sign their four-year rookie deals.
Slaughter played center at Florida and was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy last season, but the Chargers signed Tyler Biadasz in free agency and the team plans to have Slaughter at left guard during his rookie season.
“Jake’s been our top center through the entire process there,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said, via the team’s website. “With the ability to play guard, at least he’ll get a real good, fighting chance to compete for the starting position.”
First-round edge rusher Akheem Mesidor and fourth-round wide receiver Brenen Thompson are the unsigned Chargers draft picks.
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Veteran tight end David Njoku finally has a new home.
Via NFL Network, Njoku has agreed to terms with the Chargers on a one-year deal. It’s reportedly worth “up to” $8 million.
Which means it has a base value below that, with an opportunity to earn the rest through incentives. Without knowing the incentives, it’s impossible to know how easy or hard it will be to get there.
Njoku was the 29th overall pick in the 2017 draft. He had played nine years in Cleveland. He made the Pro Bowl in 2023, with a career-high 81 catches for 882 yards and six touchdowns.
With the 2025 season, Njoku completed a four-year, $54.75 million deal with the Browns.
In L.A., Njoku becomes another weapon in the new-look offense being implemented under coordinator Mike McDaniel. The Chargers currently have four other tight ends on the roster, headlined by Oronde Gadsen, who generated 664 receiving yards as a rookie in 2025.
His protracted stay on the free-agency market makes his signing not count for compensatory draft-pick purposes, for either the Chargers or the Browns.
As quarterback Justin Herbert enters the seventh year of his career, the Chargers continue to hope to unlock a potential that has yet to be fully realized n the form of a single postseason win. Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has been charged with the task of getting more out of the quarterback about whom head coach Jim Harbaugh constantly raves.
On Friday, McDaniel shared more thoughts on what Herbert could become.
“He has the capability of mastering every tool in the toolbox,” McDaniel said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “For him to own the position in a way he never has and ultimately for it to be obvious to everyone around, he’s playing the best football of his career.”
One specific goal is to improve Herbert’s efficiency when throwing the ball quickly.
“Finding a more detailed approach to max out those quick throws in conjunction with all the things that you know he’s capable of doing,” McDaniel said. “Which is extend plays and launch it down the field.”
The effort requires Herbert to be willing to make changes after six seasons of playing a certain way. McDaniel said that, so far, Herbert has been receptive.
“Typically, elite performers don’t like to try new things,” McDaniel said. “He’s really let go, been all in.”
Herbert should be all in. He finished outside the top 10 in passer rating last season. He’s only landed in the top 10 once in his career, when he ranked seventh in 2024 with a passer rating of 101.7.
And Herbert is surely hearing the noise that, despite internal efforts to blame everyone but him for his failure to become what his overall skills suggest he should be, maybe he’s partially responsible for not becoming what he has been expected to be. Maybe, after six seasons in the NFL, he is what he’s going to be: Good, not great.
McDaniel, who coaxed impressive performances from a quarterback in Miami who was drafted one spot before Herbert, has someone who can make things happen when the play extends. If McDaniel can get more out of Herbert with quick reads and quick throws via plays that are schemed to have someone pop open quickly, that could be the key to making Herbert great, not good.
The Chargers announced the signings of five players selected in the 2026 draft.
They now have fourth-round offensive tackle Travis Burke (No. 117), fourth-round safety Genesis Smith (No. 131), fifth-round defensive tackle Nick Barrett (No. 145), sixth-round offensive guard Logan Taylor (No. 202) and sixth-round offensive guard Alex Harkey (No. 206) under contract.
That leaves only first-round linebacker Akheem Mesidor, second-round center Jake Slaughter and fourth-round wide receiver Brenen Thompson unsigned.
The Chargers also waived two players — defensive lineman Josh Fuga and cornerback Jordan Oladokun — and signed 18 undrafted free agents.
The undrafted free agents to sign were Utah State safety Noah Avinger, Utah linebacker Lander Barton, Kansas State tight end Jerand Bradley, Colorado wide receiver Sincere Brown, Virginia defensive lineman Jahmeer Carter, Memphis running back Greg Desrosiers, Syracuse safety Devin Grant, Louisiana State defensive lineman Jacobian Guillory, San Diego State outside linebacker Niles King, Penn State wide receiver Devonte Ross, Georgia Tech cornerback Rodney Shelley, Toledo cornerback Avery Smith, Fresno State center Jacob Spomer, Wyoming tight end Evan Svoboda, Western Michigan outside linebacker Nadame Tucker, Southern Methodist defensive lineman Terry Webb, Florida State cornerback Jeremiah Wilson and Oregon tackle Isaiah World.
The Vikings are not officially announcing their interviews for General Manager, but three more candidates for the role have now been reported.
According to multiple reports, Minnesota has put in an interview request for Titans assistant G.M. Dave Ziegler and 49ers assistant G.M. RJ Gillen. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports notes the Vikings have also put in a request for Chargers assistant G.M. Chad Alexander.
Of this group, Ziegler has previous G.M. experience, having served in that role for the Raiders in 2022 and 2023. He was fired midway through his second season, along with former head coach Josh McDaniels.
Gillen has spent the last 11 seasons with the 49ers. He was promoted to assistant G.M. last year after serving as director of player personnel for two years.
Alexander has been the Chargers’ assistant G.M. since 2024. He was previously with the Ravens’ personnel department from 1999-2018 before serving as Jets director of player personnel from 2019-2023.
Recently, former NFL defensive end and former ESPN and Fox Sports on-air personality Marcellus Wiley was accused of sexual assault by four individuals. The claims, which were addressed in an item on Awful Announcing, were first reported by Rolling Stone on April 29.
On Tuesday morning, Wiley responded publicly to the new accusations on his YouTube show.
“Pick a date, pick the encounter, pick the allegation,” Wiley said. “For every one of them, I either saw, communicated — through email, text, phone — was invited by these individuals after these dates to engage, to be intimate, or all the above. After the dates that are in question, OK? So this matters. Why does it matter? . . . Because it directly contradicts the narrative that they’re trying to present publicly.”
He posed a simple question to the accusers. “Why did you continue to see or maintain friendly communication at minimum that can be verified — will be verified — with someone that you’re accusing after the alleged incidents?”
Wiley compared his situation to the Stefon Diggs criminal trial, which at the time had not yet ended. (On Tuesday, Diggs was acquitted of strangulation and assault charges.)
Unlike Diggs, Wiley faces accusations from multiple persons. Unlike Diggs, Wiley has not faced criminal charges.
Wiley has vowed to defend his name, especially since his son carries that same name.
“To you, it’s about money,” Wiley said. “To me, it’s about my son’s name that he will one day Google and think that this is about him, but he’s gonna know it’s about his dad. And how dare you stain the brain of my child and his hero.”
Wiley did not address any of the details in the allegations. And that’s smart. Anything he says can be used against him in court by the persons who have made the accusations.
On Tuesday night, Wiley posted on Twitter court documents showing that three prior allegations have been dismissed.
Columbia University also has been named in the new lawsuit, which seeks certification of a class action against Wiley and Columbia. Via Rolling Stone, a hearing regarding potential certification of a class action will be held on May 12.
Wiley will have the right to fully and aggressively defend himself against the allegations. And, again, he has faced no criminal charges at any time in connection with any of the claims.
Where the litigation goes from here remains to be seen. Wiley’s initial response makes it clear that he intends to aggressively fight all of the allegations.
Wiley spent 10 years in the NFL, playing for the Bills, Chargers, Cowboys, and Jaguars. He worked for ESPN through 2018, and he then worked at Fox Sports until 2022.
Former NFL defensive end and Fox Sports and ESPN on-air personality Marcellus Wiley is facing four claims of sexual assault, according to Drew Lerner of Awful Announcing.
The allegations appear in court filings made last month. Per the report, the four new claimants are in addition to three existing claims of sexual assault against Wiley. He previously dubbed the prior claims “B.S.,” and his lawyer formally denied the allegations in court papers.
As explained by Lerner, one of the new claims was made by an ESPN production assistant who claims that Wiley assaulted her in his hotel room. Another claim, per the report, was made by a woman who contends that Wiley raped her on her 18th birthday, after allegedly “grooming” her since she was 13.
Wiley left Fox Sports in 2022. He has produced podcast content independently since then.
A second-round pick out of Columbia in 1997, Wiley spent four years with the Bills, three with the Chargers, one with the Cowboys, and two with the Jaguars. He was a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro in 2001.
UPDATE 5/6/2026 10:00 a.m. ET: On Tuesday, Wiley strongly denied the new allegations. He also posted documents on Twitter showing that three prior claims were dismissed.
One of the top unsigned veteran free agents in the league has lined up a visit for early next week.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that tight end David Njoku is scheduled to visit the Chargers on Monday. Njoku was No. 76 on PFT’s list of this year’s top free agents and is one of a handful of players on the list who has yet to find a home for 2026.
Njoku, who also visited the Ravens last month, has spent his entire nine-year career with the Browns. He had 33 catches for 293 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games last season and has 384 catches for 4,062 yards and 34 touchdowns for his career.
The Chargers currently have Oronde Gadsden and Charlie Kolar as the top tight ends on their depth chart.
Free agent running back Austin Ekeler is medically cleared for all football activities, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.
Ekeler, who turns 31 next week, plans to play in 2026.
The nine-year veteran tore his Achilles in Week 2 last season. He had 19 touches for 81 yards in his second season in Washington after seven seasons with the Chargers.
Ekeler appeared in 12 games for Washington in 2024, rushing for 367 yards and four touchdowns on 77 carries, catching 35 passes for 366 yards and averaging 31.3 yards on 19 kickoff returns.
In his career, Ekeler has 1,561 touches for 9,053 yards and 73 touchdowns.
Now that the NFL draft has come and gone, there’s one key date left on the league’s offseason schedule. Even if we don’t know what that date will be.
The schedule release is coming. In May. When in May, we don’t know.
Last year, the full regular-season schedule was released on Wednesday, May 14. In the preceding days, a handful of games were announced by the various broadcast partners.
That makes the week of May 11 the most likely target for the 2026 schedule release, as to the entire slate of 272 regular-season games.
Like every year, the “who” and the “where” of every game became known the moment the prior regular season ended. The formula is tied to division membership (six games), the AFC-NFC full-division rotation (as to eight games), and final finish in each team’s given division (three games). But the “when” remains a mystery, for all but two games.
To date, the league has announced that the Rams will “host” the 49ers in Melbourne on Thursday, September 10 (Friday, September 11 at the site of the game) and that the Cowboys will “host” the Ravens in Brazil on Sunday, September 27. As to the other 270 games, nothing has been announced.
The act of adding the “where” to the “who” and the “when” will be a major sports story, overshadowing the other major sports that are, you know, playing games. It’s another tangible example of the extent to which the NFL stands out in the American sports landscape.
We’ve suggested in the past that the league could, and perhaps should, make it a multi-day exercise, with the prime-time games unveiled on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of schedule-release week and the rest of the games announced on Thursday. Why not commandeer the full week, instead of taking over only one day?
The experience has now been supplemented by a competition among the teams to come up with the best and most creative schedule-release videos. Some teams do it better than others, with the Chargers typically having the most edgy and humorous offering. As a result, some teams have arguably pushed the limits, to the point where it makes sense for the league office to sign off on any videos that could become problematic once they debut.
That could be a particularly good idea this year, for any team that has the Patriots on the schedule. Especially the Chargers, who are indeed slated to host New England in 2026.
