Bradley Bozeman has been a starting center in the NFL for most of the past four seasons. He has never graded out as one of the NFL’s best centers, though, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so the Chargers are starting to experiment with lining former first-round pick Zion Johnson up at center in 2025, per Daniel Popper of The Athletic, bumping Bozeman out to left guard.
Starting as a backup center with the Ravens in 2018, Bozeman was bumped out to left guard so that he could be in the starting lineup in his sophomore season with the team. In the final year of his rookie contract, Baltimore moved Bozeman back to center. As a free agent he signed a one-year deal as a backup to Pat Elflein in Carolina, earning the starting gig when Elflein went out with a season-ending injury. After he stepped up, Carolina extended him to a three-year, $18MM extension but released him just a year later. He rebounded by signing with the Chargers, who, like the Panthers, gave him an extension after his first year with the team.
Johnson has yet to live up to his first-round status in Los Angeles; the Chargers declined his fifth-year option this month. He took over as a starter immediately as a rookie but has been only average at left guard. While it may not result in a permanent switch, it makes sense for the Chargers to at least try swapping Johnson and Bozeman. Neither has been outstanding at their initial positions, and working in a new spot may help one or both players be more comfortable moving forward. With Mekhi Becton improving the right guard spot as he joins a pretty great tackle pair in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, the Chargers will hope that the swap results in an upgrade to their two weaker offensive line positions.
Here are a few more offseason rumors from around the AFC West:
- In a slightly similar situation, the Raiders will be cross-training rookie tackle Charles Grant in hopes that he can serve as the team’s swing tackle, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Las Vegas used back-to-back picks on offensive tackles in the third round back in April, selecting Grant right after drafting Texas Tech’s Caleb Rogers. Rogers may end up getting more looks on the interior as a pro, while the Raiders plan on Grant being an option to play at both tackle spots. Grant spent all five years of his time at William & Mary as a left tackle, but with Kolton Miller entrenched in that starting spot, Grant’s best path to playing time is to compete with second-year right tackle DJ Glaze. It’s not easy to switch from side to side at tackle in the NFL, so Vegas will experiment with Grant at both spots to be safe. They’ll see how well he takes on the shift to the right side in order to determine if he can compete with Glaze, but if he can’t make the change, they’ll keep him working at left tackle, as well, as an option to backup Miller.
- While Chiefs rookie offensive tackle Josh Simmons‘ slide to the last pick of the first round was credited in large part to medical red flags, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler informs us that “character concerns” were a bigger deterrent during the pre-draft process. Fowler asserts that most teams he consulted with were not overly concerned with the patellar tendon tear that ended Simmons’ 2024 campaign. Instead, concerns with his approach to practices and run blocking gave pause to teams with mid- to late-first-round picks.
- In a recent Q&A, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal fielded a question about whether or not the eventual replacement for Raiders head coach Pete Carroll was already in the building. Carroll is currently on a three-year deal with a fourth-year team option, but if the 73-year-old skipper opted to hang up his headset after putting the team on the right track, Bonsignore does have an eye on a potential successor in the building. Carroll’s two sons are both currently on staff with him in Las Vegas; Brennan Carroll works as the team’s offensive line coach, while Nate Carroll serves as assistant quarterbacks coach. According to Bonsignore, the elder brother, Brennan, is an up-and-coming coach with experience as an offensive coordinator with two programs at the collegiate level. If the eldest Carroll boy is going to get an NFL head coaching opportunity, the cleanest path likely lies in Vegas.
- As linebacker Alex Singleton continues striving to make his return from a midseason ACL tear, the Broncos have just been aiming to get him back in time for their 2025 season opener. In an update from Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post, it was reported that Singleton is on track to return in time for training camp. The former undrafted free agent has been increasingly impressive as he’s earned more and more responsibility during stints with the Eagles and Broncos. Even with the first major injury of his career, the 31-year-old continues to surpass expectations with a quick and smooth rehabilitation process.