Early Tuesday morning, it was announced by ESPN’s Field Yates and several other sources that the Chargers signed wide receiver Travis Benjamin to a one-year extension, keeping him with the team through the 2020 season.
Updated: Benjamin's deal includes a $3M signing bonus, not $5.5M. So, in exchange for a pay reduction this season on his non-guaranteed base salary, Benjamin gets $3M guaranteed plus an extra year tacked on. Incentive for both sides to do the deal.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 16, 2019
The deal reportedly converts some of Benjamin’s 2018 salary into a signing bonus, effectively making his earnings for this coming season an even $1 million, which also opens up $2.75 million in cap space.
This leaves the Bolts with some extra, much-needed room in their cap to possibly make one last stab at a impact free agent signing training camp gets underway.
With defensive tackle Ndamakung Suh still unsigned, and the fact remaining that he wishes to stay on the west coast, this could be the last domino to fall for the Chargers to sign the high-profile defender.
Focusing on the impact this could have on the offense, I still do not expect much of Benjamin in the offense, even with the departure of Tyrell Williams to the Oakland Raiders. He may inherently receive a slight bump in targets, but he is in no way a threat to take away targets from Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, or the now-healthy Hunter Henry.
What do you guys think of Benjamin’s extension? Will this inevitably be a positive or negative move for the team? Let us know.