Chargers take hard stance on Zion Johnson with unsurprising contract decision

The old LA Chargers regime liked Zion Johnson enough to draft him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The current Chargers regime does not have the same level of trust in the former No. 17 pick, as the team officially declined Johnson's fifth-year option. The Chargers brought the decision on Johnson's future to the 11th hour as general manager Joe Hortiz was publicly non-committal after the draft. It wasn't hard to read the tea leaves at the time, as Hortiz's non-answer was essentially him kicking the can down the road on a tough decision. It isn't just that Hortiz wasn't part of the regime that drafted Hortiz three years ago; those who have watched Johnson closely knew this decision was coming, dating back to the 2024 regular season. He simply has not played like a first-round pick, making the fifth-year option decision rather straightforward. The Chargers would have paid Johnson an estimated $17.565 million in 2026 if the team picked up his fifth-year rookie option. That value would have been the fou