The Las Vegas Raiders made no shortage of changes this offseason when new head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek came to town. While an entire roster cannot be turned over in just one year, pivotal adjustments were made right away by the new regime.
One of those adjustments was moving second-year lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson into the starting center spot, which made veteran Andre James expendable. As a result, they released James at the beginning of free agency, and he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, an AFC West rival.
While jumping ship to a divisional foe is largely frowned upon, James' departure to Los Angeles did not ruffle any feathers within Raider Nation. James was certainly a solid player in his day for the Silver and Black, but he is on the downslope in his career and, therefore, not too threatening.
Chargers refuse to give former Raider Andre James a chance
Chargers fans were initially excited about James' arrival, as they felt that they had found their new starting center. However, this has proven not to be the case, as James is currently second on the team's depth chart.
This confirms what Raiders fans already knew, which is that James is a backup at this juncture of his career. Las Vegas probably would have kept him around in that capacity as well, if not for his $11 million price tag that he would have carried this season.
To make matters worse for James, the Chargers' interior offensive line was so bad last season that head coach Jim Harbaugh is swapping center Bradley Bozeman and left guard Zion Johnson. Now, Johnson will be the team's center and Bozeman will start at left guard.
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However, Johnson has never played center before, so this is a big gamble for Harbaugh to take. It also serves as a slap in the face to James, who has started 60 games at center in the NFL. Seemingly, Harbaugh and the Chargers will do anything not to insert the former Raider into the starting lineup.
James is certainly past his prime, as evidenced by his 55.6 Pro Football Focus grade in 2024, which ranked 47th out of 64 qualifying centers last year. Yet, James may be the Chargers' best option at the position, which bodes incredibly poorly for them, and great for the Raiders.
There is still a chance that James earns a starting position during training camp or the preseason, and he could be plugged in at any point in 2025. However, it seems like the Chargers are learning the same lesson that the Raiders did, which is that James is no longer a starting NFL center.