clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

San Diego Chargers fans should keep an eye on 49ers' secondary

A trade made by the San Francisco 49ers today may have added a star Cornerback to the free agent market. Should the San Diego Chargers be interested in either player if they are released by the Niners?

Ezra Shaw

There was some NFL news today, although it didn't affect the San Diego Chargers....or did it?

Oh, neat. The San Francisco 49ers added an average, but overpaid, Cornerback. I didn't know they needed one of those.

An average Cornerback, then. Still, didn't they just sign Nnamdi Asomugha to a one-year contract in April? They did. They also have Carlos Rogers as their #1 CB still.

Oh, okay. Ian Rapoport, along with many others, believe that San Francisco will release either Rogers or Asomugha. Asomugha could be released for free, while Rogers would cost about $10 million to get rid of (or $2.6 million more than if they kept him).

I don't think Carlos Rogers is so bad that the team would pay him $10 million to walk away. I also know that the Niners don't do things the way other teams do, and might just want to use Asomugha as their Nickel Cornerback.

If either player is released, the San Diego Chargers should have loads of interest.

Despite having a few rough seasons trying to fit in with the zone-blitzing system of the Philadelphia Eagles, Nnamdi Asomugha is still one of the best man-coverage CBs in the league. This is mainly why he signed with San Francisco for so cheap. He wants to prove to the league that, at 32 years old, he is still the same player he was with the Oakland Raiders.

Carlos Rogers doesn't exactly light the world on fire with his play, and at 32 years old he's starting to slow down, but he's a #1 CB still and the Chargers don't really have one of those. If you want a good comparison, Rogers is basically what Quentin Jammer was 2-3 years ago.

Neither of these guys should get a long-term contract, but both may have interest in San Diego (where they will have a chance to play with Eric Weddle and go up against the other team's best receiver) if they end up hitting the free agent market before the beginning of the season.