The offseason is in full swing for the Chargers.
The Bolts went 11-6 and made the playoffs in Jim Harbaugh's first season but now look ahead to see what Version 2.0 looks like under Harbaugh and Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz.
"It's a thousand little things that add up to make up all the difference," Harbaugh said. "We were close, now we want to put it over the top.
"Things that people think are the minutiae that don't really matter, it's all the little things that add up to make all the difference," Harbaugh added.
With that in mind, here are five key offseason questions facing the Chargers.
1. Do Khalil Mack & Joey Bosa return?
Mack and Bosa are two of the biggest names on the Chargers roster, but each faces a unique situation this offseason.
Mack said earlier this month that he is mulling retirement after 11 stellar seasons in the NFL, the past three of which have been with the Chargers.
Mack is still an elite level defensive player, even if his 2024 sack numbers didn't meet his historic numbers from the season before.
Keep in mind that he's also one of 30 Chargers players slated to be free agents, meaning he could very well sign with another team if he continues his NFL career.
Mack has been an invaluable piece of the Bolts roster in recent years and his potential absence would create a void within the franchise.
Despite being a future Hall of Famer, nobody works harder than Mack, who has been a team captain and quintessential leader in powder blue. He also sets the tone on the field, as he never takes a play off and helps elevate everyone around him.
Hortiz made his thoughts on Mack known at his year-end presser last week.
"Such a special competitor, leader, person. It's rare to get a guy of Khalil's ability and get the person that he brings with it," Hortiz said. "He is a special, special person to be around. I feel blessed to have been around him and I hope we can continue to be around him."
Bosa, on the other hand, is under contract for 2025 but carries a significant cap hit.
Hortiz was asked last week if the Chargers could keep Bosa next season on those current terms.
"Everything's possible," Hortiz said.
Bosa has battled injuries in recent seasons but should be commended for his work ethic and desire to get back on the field. He told reporters that he could barely walk in late September due to various pain, but he managed to get healthy enough to help the Bolts make the playoffs down the stretch.
Like every other season, there will be turnover on the Bolts roster from one season to the next.
But it's worth recognizing the magnitude of what a return and/or departure for both Mack and Bosa would mean for the Bolts.
2. How do the Bolts spend in free agency?
A year ago, the Bolts had to make cost-cutting moves in order to get under the salary cap. This meant restructures for Bosa and Mack while releasing Mike Williams and trading Keenan Allen.
As a result, the Chargers entered free agency with a measured approach, mostly choosing to sign players who could compete for starting roles to 1-year deals. This group included the likes of J.K. Dobbins, Poona Ford, Kristian Fulton, Bradley Bozeman and others.
The Chargers now enter the 2025 offseason with more than $70 million of projected cap space, a figure that could be even higher if the Bolts make a handful of other roster moves such as releasing certain players early from their contracts.
Either way, the Chargers are going to have money to spend in mid-March. The question looms, how will they spend it?
The Bolts could go the splashy route and add a big-ticket free agent to a sizable deal. Or perhaps they take a more sensible approach by signing multiple players to mid-level deals in order to build out a more well-rounded squad.
Hortiz said last week that he envisions the Chargers taking the latter of those two approaches.
"You look at it from a responsible way just like we did last year. Last year we had less money to spend but we were responsible with our spending," Hortiz said. "I think you always stay responsible with your spending on the salary cap. There's a lot of things to balance.
"In the end, if you get reckless then you always pay the piper eventually," Hortiz added. "We're going to be responsible and clinical in our approach and there's going to be a plan for it. That's how we're going to roll."
It will be fascinating the approach that Hortiz and his staff take to construct the roster with money to spend.
3. How does Justin Herbert bounce back?
Look, aside from Harbaugh, Herbert is the face of the Chargers franchise.
He's going to go down as one of the best players to ever wear powder blue and is unquestionably the guy the Bolts are building everything around going forward.
However, just as Herbert himself said in Houston, he also had an uncharacteristic performance that included four interceptions. He threw just three over the entirety of the regular season.
Harbaugh and Hortiz were reluctant to criticize Herbert at their year-end press conference.
"There's nobody in this entire organization who gives more blood, sweat and tears and contributes more, produces more for the organization than Justin Herbert," Harbaugh said.
Hortiz added: "I have not been around a quarterback like him. The work ethic, the determination, the leadership. It's awesome to see. He lifts others up and we want to bring more people around him to lift up."
Those of who get to see Herbert up close on a daily basis know how driven and competitive he is. This includes everything from football to chess to board games.
There will surely be outside chatter about Herbert this offseason. Hortiz dispelled that notion last week, noting that it took multiple high-profile quarterbacks a few chances to win their first playoff game.
Mack also chimed in during locker room cleanout day.
"Who give a [bleep] about what anybody has to say about that guy? Nobody knows what he went through this year, nobody knows how great of a leader he is and what he's willing to do," Mack said. "Always got that guy's back no matter what, I let him know that on the plane last night.
"He's going to be an all-time great in this game," Mack added. "You got to use moments like that to learn from them and get better and make sure they never happen again."
We'll put it in writing here first: Herbert is not only going to take the Bolts back to the playoffs next season, but he's also going to lead them on a deep run at some point. Book it.
4. What do the Chargers do in the 1st round?
If you missed it, the first Chargers Mock Draft Tracker dropped on Tuesday.
There was nearly an even split between pundit projections, as some have the Chargers adding a pass-catching tight end while other see the Bolts beefing up their defensive line.
Either way, the countdown is on as we're now only 92 days away from Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
And while this is obviously a pressing question, a full answer won't be shaped until we see what happens with the Bolts in free agency.
But as it stands now, the Bolts can go two different ways with the No. 22 overall pick.
First, the Bolts could choose to fortify the roster around Herbert in a variety of ways. This could mean adding a weapon in the passing game via a tight end or wide receiver. An interior offensive lineman could also be the play to help boost a group led by Rashawn Slater (who is eligible for a contract extension) and Joe Alt.
Or the Chargers could look to add a high-end piece to a defense that finished the 2024 season as the NFL's No. 1 scoring unit (17.7 points per game).
Perhaps this means bringing in a player in the trenches as either a defensive lineman or edge rusher depending on what happens with the likes of Bosa, Mack, Ford, Fox and others.
Hortiz had the luxury of having the No. 5 pick in his first draft and hit a home run with Alt. But the Chargers don't want to pick that high again and would obviously prefer to pick even lower than No. 22 every year.
Hortiz helped build the Ravens into perennial contenders during his time in Baltimore by constantly crushing draft classes.
The Chargers did so in 2024 and hope do to it again in April.
5. Which young players take a step forward?
Think of this as the Daiyan Henley progression.
Henley hardly played as a rookie in 2023 but turned into a tackling machine at linebacker as he produced borderline Pro-Bowl level play in Year 2.
So, which players could take a big jump next season?
We won't include Alt or Ladd McConkey here because the duo already shined as rookies.
Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart, a pair of 2024 fifth-round cornerbacks, each shined enough in 2024, too.
Fellow rookie Kimani Vidal showed flashes at running back and could be a more prominent player next season.
But if we're looking for a player to make a similar jump as Henley, why not go with a player in his position group?
Like Henley, Junior Colson is a former third-round pick.
Colson played 218 defensive snaps as a rookie compared to just 53 for Henley, but Colson's first season was hampered by an appendectomy in July followed by a stint on Injured Reserve midway through the season.
Colson played at Michigan, so he knows Harbaugh's style and can likely recite Jesse Minter's defensive scheme in his sleep.
With linebackers Denzel Perryman, Troy Dye, Nick Niemann and Shaq Quarterman all slated to be free agents, the Bolts linebacker group might need Colson to play a bigger role in 2025.
That could mean a starting spot, which would give the Chargers a pair of athletic, young and modern-day linebackers to pair together going forward.
Keep an eye on Tuli Tuipulotu's role in 2025, too. Depending on what happens with Mack and Bosa, the third-year edge rusher could find himself in a full-time starting role.
Tuipulotu, who led the Chargers with 8.5 sacks in 2024, was asked last week about possibly elevating his role.
"I feel like I'm ready. Whatever needs to be done, I'm going to do it," Tuipulotu said. "I think I showed that. Whatever the coaches need me to do, I'll do it."
