NFL Executive Rightfully Hits Chargers Where It Hurts for Odafe Oweh, Akheem Mesidor

The Los Angeles Chargers rolled the dice this offseason at edge rusher.

No great secret now and it's worth coming back to in the post-draft glow. At that third edge rusher spot behind Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu, the Chargers let Odafe Oweh get away in free agency despite sitting on nearly $100 million in cap space.

To compensate, the Chargers drafted Akheem Mesidor in the first round. A fine prospect, but one with a big problem: He's already 25 years old.

By taking an older prospect, the Chargers gamble on his quick adaptation to the NFL so he can play well in that third spot right away.

But it's never so simple, right? And it has some in the NFL rightfully wondering why the Chargers didn't just eat the cash hit and keep Oweh.

Did Chargers make a mistake with Odafe Oweh and Akheem Mesidor?

Last season, the Chargers made a low-risk trade with the Baltimore Ravens, acquiring Oweh, a former first-round pick. He proceeded to break out in Los Angeles.

Keeping the 27-year-old breakout felt like a no-brainer. But instead, Oweh went and signed with the Washington Commanders on a four-year deal worth $100 million. But it's really a two-year deal or so with some big cap savings if the Commanders let him go.

It's coming up now in conversations around the NFL, including anonymous NFL executives polled after the draft.

"Mesidor is only 2 1/2 years younger than Oweh," an executive told The Athleteic's Mike Sando said. "Why wouldn't you just keep Oweh? Even if you just transition-tagged him, you have him this year, you can use your first-round pick on something else, you can get younger."

That's the crux of the argument, really. The Chargers care deeply about draft picks and coughed one up to get Oweh. He then proved he can play well in the scheme, so what's the big deal giving up around the $24.4 million franchise tag number per season to keep that going?

Worst-case scenario, the Chargers could have hit Oweh with a tag or even two if the two parties couldn't reach a long-term agreement. Even right now, they still have $45.8 million in free cap space.

None of this is to say Mesidor is a bad prospect. They're going to be weighing his fifth-year option when he's about 30 years old, but who cares if it helps the team win?

Still, all of this felt manufactured to save cap space and retain as much control over that space as possible over the next few years, which is fine. But it does feel like the Chargers once again priming themselves for a major move that just never comes.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as NFL Executive Rightfully Hits Chargers Where It Hurts for Odafe Oweh, Akheem Mesidor.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 9:00 PM.