Running back Austin Ekeler won’t be leaving the Chargers this offseason and he won’t be back under the terms of a restricted free agent tender.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Ekeler has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Chargers. The deal is worth $24.5 million deal and includes $15 million in guaranteed money.
Ekeler joined the team as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and moved into a key role on the team’s offense over the last two years. Ekeler ran 132 times for 557 yards and caught 92 passes for 993 yards while notching 11 overall touchdowns during the 2019 season.
Ekeler was No. 95 on our list of this year’s top free agents -- Taysom Hill is the only other impending restricted free agent to make the top 100 --while teammate Melvin Gordon ranks as No. 41 on the same list. The fact that the Chargers never extended Gordon’s contract while he was holding out last year was one sign that a new deal in L.A. wasn’t in the cards and the Ekeler news probably doesn’t make it any likelier.