Telesco bullish on picking up option year on Williams
INDIANAPOLIS — General manger Tom Telesco said “the plan going in” is for the Chargers to pick up the fifth-year option of Mike Williams’ rookie contract.
The wide receiver and 2017 first-round choice is coming off his best season, finishing 2019 with 49 receptions for 1,001 yards.
Immediately after saying that, however, Telesco softened his position.
“Actually, I haven’t given enough thought on that yet,” he said. “But we love what he’s doing. He’s going to be a good player in this league.”
The Chargers have until May 30 to exercise the option, which would pay Williams a salary close to $14 million in 2021.
Telesco also said he had no update on a possible contact extension with defensive end Joey Bosa.
The two-time Pro Bowl player is entering the final season of his initial NFL contract and is a candidate to hold out this summer in an attempt to get a new deal.
“I don’t really have a timetable on it,” Telesco said. “But I know he’s a building-block player. We want him here a long time.”
Chargers tackle line
The Chargers are in need of an upgrade on the offensive line and some recent speculation has connected them to Alabama’s Jedrick Wills, one of the top tackles in the draft.
Wills played some as a freshman before emerging as a starter as a sophomore. His NFL stock surged over the last year when he became a dominant figure for the Crimson Tide.
“I kept my head down and kept grinding,” Wills said. “I knew I was a great player. I just tried to work hard each day and see where I was at at the end of the season.”
The Chargers offense struggled up front in 2019, thanks in part to injuries to left tackle Russell Okung and center Mike Pouncey, who is still awaiting medical clearance to resume his career.
Okung, 32, has been a solid contributor when healthy but could be a candidate to be cut, depending on how Telesco eventually builds his roster.
The 6-foot-5, 312-pound Wills allowed one sack during the last two years at Alabama. He called himself a “fast learner” with a “high football IQ.”
He said his goal at the combine is to prove he should be the first offensive lineman drafted in April.
“It’s something I want to take pride in, something I’ve trained to be ever since I started playing football,” Wills said. “It’s been a dream of mine.”
— Jeff Miller
McVay’s tree
His first season as coach of the Cincinnati Bengals was rough, but Zac Taylor said the foundation he gained as an assistant for two seasons under Rams coach Sean McVay served him well.
“Sean was so good with dealing with adversity and making sure the culture was built the right way before you go into the season, which you have to draw on that once adversity strikes,” Taylor said this week before a news conference at the combine. “We faced plenty of it.”
The Bengals lost their first 11 games in 2019 before defeating the New York Jets. They concluded the season with a victory over the Cleveland
Browns and finished 214. They hold the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft.
“I always saw how Sean treated people the right way and so you try to emulate that the best you can — what’s natural to you — and it serves you well in the season,” Taylor said. “We played our best football in December despite being 0 and whatever. Our guys still rallied, found us two wins and kept believing in the process. And they know that there’s better days ahead.
“I do attribute that to my time in L.A.”
The Bengals are evaluating quarterbacks Joe Burrow of Lousiana State and Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama as their possible selection with the No. 1 pick.
“We don’t need to be premature about it,” Taylor said during his news conference. “Everybody wants it to happen today. They want to hear who we’re going to pick. We’re going to go through our process and make sure we’re finding the right guy who’s a fit for the Bengals.”
— Gary Klein