Justin Herbert contract extension may cost Chargers other valued star

A Justin Herbert contract extension may end up costing the Los Angeles Chargers another star.

Even if the Los Angeles Chargers live to save money, they do know that they have to pay Justin Herbert top-dollar at some point.

Herbert is entering his fourth year with the Bolts out of Oregon, so he is eligible for a contract extension. General manager Tom Telesco briefly touched on what the Chargers plan to do about retaining Herbert for the long-term, as well as discussed what is going on with running back Austin Ekeler’s contract situation. To be totally honest, both of these seem to be related a bit.

Here is Telesco not revealing all that much about how the Bolts do business, but this is telling.

Would you be the least bit shocked if the cheap Chargers moved on from Ekeler to pay Herbert?

Justin Herbert contract extension may cost Los Angeles Chargers Austin Ekeler

In a perfect world, the Chargers would put together deals to keep both. However, with how well Telesco has built this team, there are only so many ways to allocate a finite amount of financial resources. Thus, once they pay Herbert top-of-the-market money, or in the vicinity of what Joe Burrow could make, it may end up costing them great complementary players such as Ekeler.

While anyone with eyes can see what Herbert is as a talented franchise quarterback, you can also see areas in which the Chargers love to cut corners. Telesco is outstanding at what he does, but the Bolts play in Los Angeles for a reason. They killed their fanbase by moving two hours north to a town that likes the division rival Las Vegas Raiders more than them. They also don’t pay coaches.

I don’t know what kind of sales job Brandon Staley did in the interviewing process, but the fact he didn’t have to move coming over from the Los Angeles Rams probably saved the Bolts a few dollars in moving expenses. He’s a defensive-minded head coach whose team cannot play a lick of defense. They are coming off the worst playoff loss in recent memory to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Justifying Staley getting another year when Sean Payton was out there is beyond head-scratching. Payton going to the Denver Broncos instead sure makes the Bolts look stupid. Regardless, these shameless cost-cutting maneuvers are firmly baked into their culture. It is their blood; it is who they are. It is why no team with as much talent as them historically has underachieved as much.

So yes, the Chargers are going to pay Herbert, but it doesn’t seem like they are as invested in retaining his safety blanket in the backfield. Ekeler was an anonymous running back coming into the league, and has become a fantasy football darling in recent years. However, fantasy football and what actually takes place on the gridiron on NFL Sundays are totally different animals, y’all.

Overall, I think the Cincinnati Bengals will end up paying slightly more for Burrow than the Chargers will for Herbert because they are the better team with the better quarterback. These teams have excellent front offices who make savvy moves on the reg, but Burrow has given the Bengals more confidence to go out and win on Sundays than Herbert seems to have in his career.

The goal is to keep both, but the Bolts will be paying a premium for Herbert at Ekeler’s expense.