After making significant efforts to improve their offensive line this offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers still appear to have lingering questions up front.
According to The Athletic, the Chargers have opted not to pick up the fifth-year option on offensive lineman Zion Johnson, which means the former first-round pick is now set to become a free agent after the 2025 season.
Exercising the option would have cost the team $17.56 million in 2026—a steep price for a player whose performance has been inconsistent. Drafted 17th overall in 2022 out of Boston College, the 6-foot-3, 316-pound Johnson has made 49 starts at guard. While he’s been durable, he hasn’t quite delivered at the level expected of a first-rounder.
Last year, Pro Football Focus rated him as the 47th-best guard out of 136, with a 65.7 overall grade, and just 61st in pass protection. Johnson is expected to take practice reps at center this offseason in an effort to increase his positional flexibility. He’ll have to compete with veteran Bradley Bozeman, who returns as the starting center.
“I believe he can play center—I really do,” Chargers GM Joe Hortiz said back in February. “He’s working at it now, and we have some younger guys too who haven’t had much opportunity yet, but are developing as well.”
Fortifying the Offensive Line a Priority for LA
In March, the Chargers made a major addition to their offensive line by signing veteran guard Mekhi Becton to a two-year, \$20 million deal.
The towering 6-foot-7, 363-pound lineman is coming off a resurgent season in which he started 19 games for the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles. Becton played a key role in helping Saquon Barkley surpass 2,000 rushing yards and earn NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.
If Becton can stay healthy—something that was an issue earlier in his career—he’s expected to bring a significant boost to the interior of the Chargers’ offensive line as they aim to better protect quarterback Justin Herbert.
Herbert was sacked 41 times during the 2024 regular season, the most of his career and tied for seventh-highest in the league. He was brought down four more times in the team’s AFC playoff loss to the Texans. In Jim Harbaugh’s first year as head coach, Los Angeles ranked 11th in scoring (23.6 points per game) and 20th in total offense (324.2 yards per game).
At tackle, the Chargers are solid with starters Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. They also used a sixth-round pick (No. 199 overall) in the draft to select Branson Taylor, an offensive tackle from Pittsburgh, adding depth to the position.
Competition Awaits Johnson
When asked at the NFL Combine about how the team plans to configure its offensive line, Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz made it clear: the lineup will be based on performance, not draft status or contract.
“We’ll put our best five out there, whatever it is,” Hortiz said. “Best five out there.”
That means players like Zion Johnson will have to earn their spots.
The team’s decision to decline Johnson’s fifth-year option doesn’t come as a shock. His on-field performance has consistently fallen short of expectations, and the financial commitment would have been steep. Per Over the Cap, the $17.56 million option would have ranked Johnson among the top 10 highest-paid guards in the league on an annual basis.
