Chargers Clips
Safety Derwin James is heading into his ninth NFL season and the Chargers hope it isn’t his final one in their uniform.
James is entering the last year of the four-year extension he signed with the team in 2022 and General Manager Joe Hortiz said at a Thursday press conference that the team plans to step up talks on a new deal after the draft. James has a base salary of $14.5 million for the coming season.
James was a second-team All-Pro after recording 94 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, and a forced fumble in 2025.
Hortiz said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN.com, that the team also plans to engage edge rusher Tuli Tuipulato in extension talks. The 2023 second-round pick had a career-high 13 sacks last season after posting 13 sacks over his first two seasons.
The Chargers haven’t made a call on what to do about their option on wide receiver Quentin Johnston’s contract for 2027, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be trading him before the deadline to make that decision.
General Manager Joe Hortiz told reporters at a Thursday press conference that the team is still considering whether to exercise Johnston’s option. The wideout would be guaranteed $18 million under the terms of the option.
Hortiz also said, via multiple reporters, that the team has received “zero calls” from teams looking to trade for Johnston and that they’ve made zero in an effort to move the 2023 first-round pick.
Johnston had 51 catches for 735 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He has 144 catches for 1,877 yards and 18 touchdowns since entering the league.
The window for pre-draft visits closed on Wednesday and former Texas A&M wide receiver K.C. Concepcion made a couple of final trips before it did.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that Concepcion visited with the Chargers and 49ers to wrap up his pre-draft meetings with teams.
Concepcion also had visits with the Bills, Browns, Dolphins, Giants, Panthers, Raiders and Titans as he made the rounds in recent weeks. That’s a big chunk of the league, but Concepcion could still wind up with another team that found other ways to explore what the wideout could bring to their team.
Concepcion had 61 catches for 919 yards and nine touchdowns in his final college season. It was his only year at A&M after transferring from North Carolina State.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
Running back Kimani Vidal is officially back with the Chargers for the 2026 season.
There wasn’t much threat of Vidal going elsewhere after the Chargers tendered him as an exclusive rights free agent earlier in the offseason and the NFL’s transaction report for Tuesday shows that Vidal has signed that tender. The move sets Vidal up to take part in the team’s offseason program when it gets underway next week.
Vidal started 10 games for the Chargers last season and led the team with 155 carries for 643 yards. He scored three touchdowns on the ground and added another score on 16 catches for 136 yards.
Vidal saw a bigger role than expected due to injuries that sidelined Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton. Harris is no longer with the Chargers and they signed Keaton Mitchell to go with Hampton and Vidal this season.
Nasir Adderley is officially back in the league.
After ending his three-year retirement, Adderley has signed with the Colts, the team announced on Tuesday.
Adderley, 28, retired after completing his rookie contract with the Chargers following the 2022 season. He appeared in 50 games with 44 starts for Los Angeles, recording 12 passes defensed, three interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
A second-round pick in 2019, Adderley was a free agent when he retired, giving him the ability to now sign with any team.
Adderley announced on social media in February that he intended to return to the NFL.
Indianapolis previously added safeties Jonathan Owens and Juanyeh Thomas in free agency this offseason.
One of the draft’s top tight ends is continuing a busy stretch this week.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Georgia’s Oscar Delp is visiting with the Buccaneers and Chargers this week.
Delp previously had top-30 visits with the Patriots, Ravens, and Vikings last week.
Delp did not work out at the scouting combine after a hairline fracture was revealed in his foot during a routine X-ray. But Delp was able to work out at Georgia’s Pro Day last month.
An experienced player at Georgia, Delp was on the field for 55 games with 34 starts. He totaled 70 receptions for 854 yards with nine touchdowns. That includes 21 receptions for 248 yards and four TDs in 2025.
Free agent running back Najee Harris visited the Raiders on Friday, according to the NFL’s transactions report.
He previously visited the Seahawks.
Ashton Jeanty, a first-round pick in 2025, is the Raiders’ starting running back, with Dylan Laube and Chris Collier also on the roster.
Harris is working his way back from a torn Achilles. He was injured in a Sept. 21 game against the Broncos while playing for the Chargers.
Harris, who signed with the Chargers as a free agent last March, landed on the non-football injury list ahead of last summer’s training camp after a fireworks accident. He missed all the Chargers’ training camp practices but returned for the beginning of the season.
The 2021 first-round pick spent his first four seasons with the Steelers and ran for 4,312 yards during his time in Pittsburgh.
The Chargers are getting an up-close look at an offensive line prospect on Friday.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, former Oregon offensive tackle Isaiah World is visiting with Los Angeles on a top-30 visit.
World suffered a torn ACL in the Peach Bowl back in January.
World began his collegiate career at Nevada, playing there from 2021-2024. He transferred to Oregon in 2025 and was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree for his redshirt senior season.
Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
