Matt Smith Believes Chargers Should Extend Joshua Palmer Before His Market Gets Too Expensive
The Los Angeles Chargers have traded star WR Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears, making their WR room far less dynamic in the wake of this decision. They will need to find a proven veteran while also drafting young talent in the draft.
The good news is the Chargers still have a solid starter on the roster, which is Joshua Palmer. Palmer suffered a knee injury in the 2023 season, resulting in his having to miss six games. Even with that missed time, he still brought in 581 yards and 2 TDs.
Palmer has shown flashes of brilliance in his short career, and the injury last season derailed him a bit—but he should be back in proper form for the 2024 season. Matt "Money" Smith of Bleav in Chargers believes Palmer is the future, and discusses why he should be extended before his market gets too expensive.
"So I think you look at Josh Palmer, look at every time, you know, he was there to replace Keenan, guy was putting up 100-yard games. I'm a big Josh Palmer guy, so I'm just going to say that straight out with the available cap savings they have now. Personally, I would try to do you know, let's get at this good on both sides, Josh. I would try to do an extension for him right now. I'll see if when you're talking about Calvin Ridley getting 92 million bucks and you're looking at what Drake London's get getting, Michael Pittman's getting. If I can get Josh Palmer on a team-friendly deal in like that $10, you know, $8, $10 million a year range, I would strike at that right now."
via Matt "Money" Smith, Bleav in Chargers
Matt Smith is indicating that the Chargers should do an extension with Palmer before he grows to a place where he warrants a huge deal like Calvin Ridley or Drake London.
Palmer could ramp up his targets in 2024, especially with both Mike Williams and Allen now gone. Should he post his first 1,000-yard season, he will be due for a bigger contract.
The Chargers can save on that right now by extending Palmer through two seasons and allowing his skillset to grow even more.
James Brizuela has been a professional writer since 2019. After covering entertainment and the NFL for Sportskeeda, he now works as an Assignment Desk Editor for the LA Sports Report Network which has partnered with the Sports Illustrated FanNation Network, focusing on his expertise in LA sports at the college and professional level.