Chargers Rumors: Bolts Among Top Landing Spots For Free Agency Safety

Could LA pull the trigger and reunite Brandon Staley with his former defensive player?

The Los Angeles Chargers are just a handful of weeks away from the start of training camp. Although the team is set for the most part, there are still some lingering questions and thoughts many have about the Bolts going into the 2023 season. 

One of those questions is who they could bring in to bolster their safety position. Derwin James Jr. is the star of the defense and secondary, there's no question about it, but he can't do it all alone. LA could very well bring in a veteran safety who is familiar with Brandon Staley's defense, and NFL columnist for Bleacher Report, Maurice Moton, has just the guy. 

Moton listed a handful of free agents who teams should target before training camp, and he listed safety John Johnson as a perfect fit for the Bolts. 

The Chargers could promote safety JT Woods to a starting role to replace Nasir Adderley, who chose to retire rather than test free agency, but the former is unproven with only 31 career snaps played on defense. In the short term, Johnson would be a perfect fit to line up alongside Derwin James Jr.Johnson should have some knowledge of Los Angeles' defensive system. In 2020, he played under Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, who served as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams' No. 1-ranked defense in scoring and total yards that year.Since Staley took over the Chargers' head-coaching job, the team has signed Sebastian Joseph-Day and Morgan Fox, both played on the 2020 Rams squad. Johnson could be next in line.

^{(via Bleacher Report)}

This isn't the first time we heard Johnson and Chargers in the same sentence. Johnson spent his first four seasons in LA for the Rams before departing for the Cleveland Browns in 2021. He's now a free agent and, surprisingly, has not been signed; he's only 27 years old and is coming off a season where he recorded 101 combo tackles, four tackles for loss, two QB hits, and one interception. 

Johnson in a Chargers uniform would be huge for the team and would easily bolster the safety position. 

We'll see if Tom Telesco and company choose to sign the veteran before the start of training camp.