Chargers Bring Back Antonio Garay With 2-Year Contract

He’s also had some really weird hair in that time.

For more on the Chargers offseason, be sure to check out Bolts from the Blue.

Tolbert, 26, is a big running back at 5’9 and 247 pounds. He spent the first four years of his career in San Diego, with his best season coming in 2010 when he rushed for 735 yards and had 11 touchdowns. He caught 54 passes last season, so he offers some versatility.

This makes you wonder what Stewart’s future in Carolina is. He’s under contract for one more season, and it’s hard to see the Panthers investing even more money into their running backs.

For more on Royal and his new team, the Chargers, visit Bolts From The Blue.

Versatility is the key with Gregory, who can play safety and cornerback. He spent the first six years of his career with the Chargers, making 13 starts last season. He’ll be able to contribute quickly in Bill Belichick’s defense.

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Free agent linebackers from the Ravens always seem to strike it rich because they’re so productive. Johnson will be playing in a 3-4 defense in San Diego like he did in Baltimore.

Terms of the contract weren’t disclosed.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Gregory is visiting the Patriots.

For more free agency updates, go to SB Nation’s Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit. And for more on Boston sports, check out SB Nation Boston.

Though Meachem’s arrival coincides with VIncent Jackson’s departure, it remains to be seen if he can fill the shoes left behind by the two-time Pro Bowler. Jackson topped 1,000 receiving yards in three of his last four years, with the lone exception being 2010 when he played in only five games due to injury. He agreed to a five-year, $55 million deal with the Buccaneers on Tuesday.

For more on Meachem, check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue and Saints blog Canal Street Chronicles.

It’s not a done deal, but according to various reports, it’s getting close. The Bucs are among the league leaders in salary cap space, so they can afford to get it done. Jackson could get a contract with average annual salary exceeding $10 million per season.

For more on Jackson and the Bucs, head over to Bucs Nation and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

With Hardwick in the middle, the Chargers have been one of the top offenses in the league. Last year, the Chargers were the fifth-best scoring offense (average of 25.4 points per game) and were sixth in yards per game (393.1). Most of that was because of their passing offense, though, as the Chargers were 16th in rushing yards.

For more on the Chargers offseason, be sure to check out Bolts from the Blue.

McNeill was originally the Chargers second round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He missed just two starts in his first four seasons but held out several games in 2010 due to contract issues with the uncapped year. He missed half the season in 2011 with injuries.

For more free agency updates, go to the Chargers’ SB Nation blog, Bolts From The Blue.

For more free agency updates, go to the Chargers’ SB Nation blog, Bolts From The Blue.

The two-time Pro Bowler is finally hitting free agency after receiving the franchise tag last offseason, and Jackson is coming off a 60 catch, 1,106 receiving yards and nine touchdown season in 2011. As Jensen mentions, Jackson will be in high demand in free agency and will likely garner a pretty massive contract.

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According to Brian McIntyre, the Chargers are open to signing the 28-year-old defensive end if he is willing to take a pay cut. Castillo was an effective contributor as a balanced 3-4 end during his first six seasons in the NFL, but was seriously hindered by injury in 2011. He appeared in just one game and made just one tackle before breaking his left leg in the season opener. The Chargers eventually placed him on injured reserve.

For more on Castillo and the Chargers, check out San Diego Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

Jackson is sure to draw plenty of interest around the league. He has the highest yard-per-catch average among receivers over the past four seasons among those with at least 152 catches, according to the Union-Tribune. Jackson has racked up 201 receptions, 28 touchdowns and more than 3,600 yards in that time, despite playing just five games in 2010.

Jackson’s fate could be decided as early as March 13, when free agency officially opens.

Offensive tackle Jared Gaither, who was claimed off of waivers from the Kansas City Chiefs and started five games for the San Diego Chargers, made a good enough impression during those games that the two sides are talking about a new contract this week, according to Aaron Wilson of Scout.com.

For more on Gaither’s situation, be sure to check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

There was a belief last week that the Chargers brass could go by general manager A.J. Smith and place the franchise tag on Jackson, but that seems unlikely now. Jackson is expected to be the top wide receiver free agent on the open market, so he should get a nice deal from one of the teams bidding for his services.

For more on Jackson’s situation, be sure to check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

Cole notes that part of the reason teams haven’t placed the tag on players yet is the uncertainty of the cost of doing so. It’s possible tagging Jackson could cost the Chargers around $13.7 million for just one season. This would be the second straight year the Chargers would have franchised Jackson. Jackson was one of the few free agents in 2011 that was termed a restricted free agent, because of the expiring CBA, and was franchise tagged.

For more on Jackson’s situation, be sure to check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

For more on Tolbert’s situation, be sure to check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

Prior to missing most of the 2011 season, Castillo had been a consistent force for the Chargers. Since being picked with the No. 28 pick of the 2005 draft. He had started at least 14 games in four of his six previous seasons, including each of the past three. He had signed a contract extension prior to the 2008 season and has three years remaining on that deal that had already paid him $27.3 million.

For more on Castillo’s situation, be sure to check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

There had been speculation that the team would have no choice but to use the franchise tag on the receiver, who led the team with 1,106 receiving yards and scored a team-high nine touchdowns.

If they did franchise him, the team would owe Jackson roughly $14 million this year.

Still, for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, it would make sense to keep Jackson around, especially considering he’s not yet 30 and coming off four straight seasons in which he’s averaged at least 17.2 yards per catch and made 28 touchdown catches in 52 games.

For more on Jackson’s situation, be sure to check out Chargers blog Bolts From The Blue.

According to Michael Gehlken of NBC San Diego, putting the tag on Jackson will run the team in the neighborhood of $13.7 million. The team wants Jackson to stay in San Diego, but the team came to a decision in a recent meeting that applying the franchise tag would be too costly for the current state of the team this offseason.

The team is expected to instead put the money toward patching holes in its defense and its offensive line. The Chargers have until March 5 to decide whether to place a franchise tag on an impending free agent. Free agency begins on March 13.

The Chargers plucked Jackson off Colorado’s high plains in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He was mostly invisible during his first two seasons in San Diego, a victim of MartyBall. Norv Turner took over as head coach in 2007, the same year that Jackson started all 16 games for the first time in his career.

He had another big year, his biggest, in 2009, and it set the stage for his annual dalliances with A.J. Smith and the Chargers’ front office. NFL commissioner and morality czar Roger Goodell slapped Jackson with a three-game suspension to start the 2010 season, but that was a footnote to Jackson’s 2010 season.

That’s far from the only area they will have to focus on, however, as the Chargers will need to make a decision on 20 different players who are set to enter some form of free agency on March 13. Here is the full list of impending Chargers free agents, courtesy of Mac’s Football Blog.

For all news and information regarding the San Diego Chargers, please visit Bolts From The Blue.

With plenty of room to operate under the salary cap before next season kicks off, the Chargers will certainly look to field a much stronger team in 2012.

For all news and information regarding the San Diego Chargers, please visit Bolts From The Blue.