The Chargers went shopping in Miami’s old aisle this offseason, and Bleacher Report thinks one of those purchases could end up being a problem.
At the center of it is Cole Strange, the guard Los Angeles signed after the Dolphins moved on. Strange landed in Miami after James Daniels’ injury ended Daniels’ season, and once Kion Smith’s play didn’t hold up, Strange was pushed into the starting lineup. He was serviceable there - not dominant, not disastrous, just steady enough to avoid becoming the reason a play fell apart.
That didn’t stop Moe Moton from naming Strange the Chargers’ biggest bust candidate for 2026 in Bleacher Report’s latest team-by-team exercise. Moton’s case was blunt.
"During free agency, the Los Angeles Chargers lost a below-average guard, Zion Johnson, and signed another subpar guard, Cole Strange. The latter's shaky pass protection may cost him his starting job this year ... According to Pro Football Focus, Strange allowed 21 pressures and two sacks over 451 pass-blocking snaps."
"In 2022, the New England Patriots overdrafted Strange in the first round. This offseason, the Chargers overpaid him on a two-year, $13 million deal. He may hold on to his job only to keep fellow disappointing 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning on the sideline."
It’s a rough verdict, but the numbers Moton didn’t mention don’t exactly rescue the argument. Strange’s 54.9 overall grade last season placed him 58th out of 81 qualified guards. For a player making $6.5 million per year, that’s a hard sell.
Miami, meanwhile, answered by taking one of Los Angeles’ linemen. Jamaree Salyer is battling Jonah Savaiinaea for the Dolphins’ right guard job in 2026, and PFF listed Salyer as a tackle. His 62.6 grade ranked 61st out of 89 tackles, but Miami is only paying him just under $1.5 million this season.
There’s also the Mike McDaniel connection to consider, though the source material leaves room to question how much that really matters after Miami’s 7-10 finish last year. Even so, the swap is easy enough to frame: the Dolphins moved on from Strange, brought in Salyer, and may have improved the spot in the process.
For Chargers fans, it’s one more familiar headache in a franchise that keeps finding new ways to be relevant without ever quite getting where it wants to go.
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