Chargers release former All-Pro center ahead of expected retirement

Transactions with retired players for cap purposes have transpired this week as the Eagles moved Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox to their reserve/retired list, while the Buccaneers did the same with Ryan Jensen, who retired earlier this offseason. The Chargers are making a different move with Corey Linsley.

While Linsley is expected to retire, the Bolts are moving on via release. Chargers president John Spanos said Linsley “has taken his last snap in the NFL,” and this release will conclude the veteran center’s run with the Bolts. The Chargers will create a bit of cap space by making this move.

Linsley, the Chargers’ center from 2021-23, being cut after June 1 will create $1.2M in cap savings for the team. Had the Bolts made this cut prior to June 1, they would have been hit with more than $5M in dead money. Doing so now keeps the dead cap figure at $2.6M, with the remainder of the money being pushed to 2025.

The Bolts and Linsley agreed on a restructure in February that dropped the veteran blocker’s 2024 base salary to the veteran minimum. That laid the groundwork for Wednesday’s release.

Linsley, 32, played in just three games last season. The Chargers placed the former Pro Bowler on IR after Week 3 due to a “non-emergent heart-related medical issue.” The team, which changed coaches and GMs since Linsley last played, began its transition away from the talented center last season. The Bolts have since signed Bradley Bozeman, who is expected to transition from Carolina’s first-string snapper to the same role in Los Angeles.

After playing out his second Packers contract, Linsley signed a then-center-record five-year, $62.5M deal to help the Bolts during Justin Herbert‘s rookie contract. Linsley joined Rashawn Slater and Matt Feiler as starter additions on the Chargers’ O-line that offseason. Slater remains in place as the Bolts’ left tackle to start the Jim Harbaugh era, while Linsley will transition away from the NFL after 10 seasons.

A Chargers team that needed to release Mike Williams to move under the 2024 salary ceiling will bump its cap-space figure beyond $27M via the Linsley release. The team still needs to sign its first- and second-round picks (Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey), however.