:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33852157/20131104_ter_gb3_526.0.jpg)
Jeromey Clary may seem like public enemy #1 around these parts, but that is only because he is set to be the most undeserving starter and the most overpaid player on the San Diego Chargers in 2014 (this is assuming that he didn't already have that title in 2013).
I had come to grips with the inevitable reality of 2014, with Clary once again serving as a trainwreck as RG and the team not saying much on the subject except that he's the starter and they like him.
Correct on Clary RT @bakermancan12: @BenHigginsSD sounds to me, fan and outsiders dislike him, but everyone in charger park loves him
— Ben Higgins (@BenHigginsSD) May 30, 2014
Fine. I can accept the fact that, for all of his below-average performance on the field, the guy is a locker room leader and an example for the rest of the team when it comes to toughness and hard work.
HOWEVER....
Jeromey Clary not participating in OTAs. Told Chargers guard is recovering from offseason shoulder and hip surgery.
— Michael Gehlken (@UTgehlken) June 2, 2014
To recap...
- Jeromey Clary was the worst member of the Chargers offensive line, in fact the worst member of the team's offense, and the 72nd best Offensive Guard in the league (out of 81 total) last year according to PFF.
- Clary's base salary this season makes him the 4th highest-paid player on the Chargers and the 8th highest-paid Offensive Guard in the league.
- The Chargers, who have almost no cap room at all, would save $4,550,000 in cap space if they were to release Clary (who is entering the final year of his contract)
- Jeromey Clary, who isn't good when healthy, is not healthy and the team is uncertain if he'll be ready at the start of training camp.
- Johnnie Troutman and Chris Watt, two recent draft picks with cap-friendly contracts and tons of upside, have been practicing with the first and second team offensive lines, respectively.
There comes a point where a good locker room guy is no longer worth having around. This is that point. I do not hate or even dislike Jeromey Clary. I hope he gets a good deal somewhere else in the NFL and has a productive career in a scheme and offense that fits him a little better. I hope he can enter a young locker room and add veteran leadership. However, he's so un-needed in San Diego that his presence on the roster serves as a detriment to the team's playoff chances.