The Los Angeles Chargers have found the right guy to get over the hump and become a legitimate contender.
Jim Harbaugh, however, still has plenty of work to do to establish his identity with his new team, and that means making some decisions and taking risks.
With that in mind, former Chargers QB Ryan Leaf believes he’s ready to make a splash in the free-agent market.
Talking on Good Morning Football, Leaf predicted that the Chargers could make a run at New York Giants star RB Saquon Barkley.
He claimed that Harbaugh wants to run the football and use his running backs in play-action plays, and while he acknowledges that the Giants could just franchise-tag Barkley again, he also thinks they could be hesitant to commit that much money to him (via Good Morning Football and Dov Kleiman).
“I do think Saquon Barkley is going to be at the top of his list,” Leaf said. “I know that’s what he wants to do; he wants to run the football.”
Ryan Leaf says #Giants Saquon Barkley is at the top of #Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh’s list
(h/t @gmfb)pic.twitter.com/RoIf3XZLnp
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 2, 2024
Barkley has fallen from grace in New York.
He’s felt disrespected by his team’s approach to his contract negotiations, and while he once wanted to retire with the Giants, that might no longer be the case.
Then again, Austin Ekeler’s situation should also be monitored.
He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent, and while Barkley is obviously one of the best and most disruptive running backs in the league when healthy, Ekeler has been much more durable and a staple of the Chargers’ offense.
Whatever the case, Harbaugh will have plenty of candidates to look at to revamp an already promising offense, and it’s an exciting time to be a Chargers fan after so many years of shortcomings.
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