{"id":853987,"date":"2026-04-04T21:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853987\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T21:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T21:43:22","slug":"chargers-could-hit-jackpot-by-adding-seven-time-pro-bowl-blocker-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853987\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers Could Hit Jackpot by Adding Seven-Time Pro Bowl Blocker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday morning, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nfl\/news\/2026-nfl-free-agency-landing-spots-aaron-rodgers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Garrett Podell of CBS Sports <\/a>came out with a list of the Top 10 free agents still on the open market, and which NFL team would be the best fit. With the exception of 2016 when he was limited to only five contests, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BitoJo00.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joel Bitonio has started a minimum of 15 games in his other 11 seasons <\/a>with the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n<p>It adds up to 178 regular-season games and a pair of postseason tilts (2020 and 2023) for the seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChargers aren\u2019t the only NFL team revamping their offensive line<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775339002_476_01kncb50dyzaw1cx4qt8.jpg\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 100%;\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCharles LeClaire-Imagn Images\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Podell feels that another team in the division may be the best landing spot for the 12-year veteran. \u201cJoel Bitonio may have lost a step,\u201d said Podell, \u201cbut he can still pass protect, allowing just two sacks in 2025. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/grades\/position\/g\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">His 75.7 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade<\/a> was the eighth-best in the NFL among guards this past season. Bitonio would make a lot of sense for a team looking for interior help on the cheap to return to the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bitonio could remain in the AFC North and pursue postseason football with the Baltimore Ravens,\u201d added Podell. \u201cThe interior of their offensive line needs an upgrade at left guard over 2023 seventh-round pick Andrew Vorhees, and Bitonio would certainly represent that. Blocking for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/ravens\/onsi\/news\/lamar-jackson-workout-shows-baltimore-ravens-fans-coming-back-swinging\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson<\/a> and five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry would be a lot for Bitonio after years of blocking sagging offenses in Cleveland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Veteran G Joel Bitonio would be a perfect fit for the Chargers<\/p>\n<p> Speaking of a team looking for help on the interior of the offensive line, there\u2019s also the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yardbarker.com\/nfl\/teams\/los_angeles_chargers\/45\" class=\"yard_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>. As of now, Trevor Penning may be the frontrunner at left guard.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/chargers\/onsi\/chargers-signing-tyler-biadasz-analysis-instant-grade-reaction\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">There\u2019s a new center in Tyler Biadasz <\/a> and new right guard in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yardbarker.com\/nfl\/players\/cole_strange\/894102\" class=\"yard_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cole Strange<\/a>, but that other position appears to be wide open. Perhaps general manager Joe Hortiz is preparing to fill that hole in the draft? We\u2019ll find out in less than three weeks. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Bitonio remains on the open market\u2014which is somewhat of a surprise. For how much longer, well\u2026<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Friday morning, Garrett Podell of CBS Sports came out with a list of the Top 10 free&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[241,7,1014,262,2444,2443,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-853987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-chargers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-los-angeles","11":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","12":"tag-losangeles","13":"tag-losangeleschargers","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116348625225439955","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}