COSTA MESA — Free agency around the NFL began March 13, but wide receiver DJ Chark Jr.’s phone wasn’t exactly blowing up during the opening minutes of the league’s annual signing period. Or hours. Or days. Or weeks. Or months, as the process dragged on and on for a veteran looking for a new job.
Finally, the Chargers and Chark came to an agreement and pen was put to paper last week. The Chargers will be his fourth team in as many seasons, after he spent the 2023 season with the Carolina Panthers, the 2022 season with the Detroit Lions and the 2021 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Opportunity, honestly,” Chark said Monday of what attracted him most of all to the Chargers.
There was the opportunity to reunite with wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal. They had worked together in Jacksonville during the 2021 season.
There was the opportunity to play for Coach Jim Harbaugh. They had bonded during an earlier visit at the Chargers’ headquarters.
There was the opportunity to catch passes from Justin Herbert. They had displayed similar strengths in stretching the field for big gains.
Above all, there was an opportunity simply to continue playing in the NFL.
“I felt like it was a great match for me,” said Chark, a Pro Bowl selection in 2019 while with Jacksonville who caught 35 passes for 525 yards and five touchdowns this past season for Carolina and has averaged 14.5 yards per catch during his career.
So, Chark signed a one-season contract worth $3 million, with $2.06 million guaranteed, according to figures compiled by the website overthecap.com, giving the Chargers additional experience and depth at a position that was thin, to say the least, after the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
Chark joined a receiving corps led by Joshua Palmer, Herbert’s favorite target among the holdovers from last season, that also includes recent draft picks Ladd McConkey (Georgia), Brenden Rice (USC) and Cornelius Johnson (Michigan).
“Going into Year 7, I felt like this was a great place for me,” he said. “I’ll talk to anyone who wants to pick my brain, but at the end of the day, I’m still learning myself. I’d like to come in and, instead of looking at it as a (role as a) mentor, I look at it as a brother to these guys (young wide receivers).
“If you need something, I’m there for you.”
FRESH START (PART 2)
Cornerback Kristian Fulton didn’t have the type of season he or anyone else anticipated last season with the Tennessee Titans. He acknowledged as much when he met with reporters Monday, saying that a change of scenery and an opportunity to start fresh with the Chargers was what he needed.
No question, the Chargers will need him at his best.
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“I’ve got something to prove every year,” said Fulton, who spent four seasons with the Titans. “Obviously, in my opinion, last year wasn’t my best year on the field, so I feel that every time I step on the field that’s got to be my mindset, to prove a point. And that’s what I’m going to do, make the most of it.”
SCHEDULE RELEASE
We already know who the Chargers will play during the 2024 season thanks to the NFL’s formatted schedule. We’ll find out Wednesday when the Chargers will play those opponents when the NFL releases the 2024 schedule at 5 p.m. (PT) with special programming on NFL Network and ESPN2.
In addition to playing host to the AFC West rival Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders at SoFi Stadium, the Chargers also have home games against the Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Chargers also play road games against the Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots as well as against their AFC West foes, the Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders. The Chargers could face the Panthers in Munich, Germany.
