COSTA MESA — Joe Hortiz knew there would be difficult choices to make when he accepted the job as the Chargers’ new general manager on Jan. 30. The Chargers were over the NFL’s salary cap. Way over it. Four players, four cornerstones of the roster, made up the bulk of the team’s cap concerns.
Something would have to be done before a March 13 deadline.
Something unpleasant. Something that might upset a fan base that had been riding high after the hiring of Hortiz to replace former GM Tom Telesco and Jim Harbaugh as coach to replace Brandon Staley. Something that might sever one of the final ties to the franchise’s days in San Diego.
Wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams and edge rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack each had a cap hit north of $30 million going into the 2024 season, which contributed to the Chargers sailing well past the NFL’s record-high cap of $255.4 million for the upcoming season.
In the end, Hortiz traded Allen to the Chicago Bears, released Williams and agreed with Bosa and Mack on restructured contracts in order to become cap compliant and create cap flexibility for free agency, the NFL draft and myriad other expenses to come as he builds a new roster.
There simply was no room for sentimentality.
“We knew what we had,” Hortiz said Thursday in his first public comments since the first wave of free agency slammed onto the shore and receded. “We knew we had four great players with four great contracts. We had to address that reality and the likelihood that not all four would be back.”
Hortiz said the Chargers had several options with Allen, a six-time Pro Bowl selection who was coming off a career-best and franchise-record 108 receptions in the 2023 season. But they couldn’t come to an agreement on an extension or a restructuring of his contract.
Trading him was the solution.
“We feel good about our cap health now,” Hortiz said.
Hortiz also said he didn’t need clearance from Harbaugh or team owner…
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