Joe Barksdale agrees to terms on one-year deal with San Diego – INTERESTING.

http://www.profootballrumors.com/barksdale-chargers-agree/
Joe Barksdale, Chargers Agree To Deal
May 19th, 2015 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The last unsigned player on PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents list has found a new home, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that offensive tackle Joe Barksdale has agreed to terms with the Chargers. Years and dollars on Barksdale’s new deal aren’t yet known.

When I ranked Barksdale 36th overall among available players at the start of 2015’s free agent period, I observed that, given the lack of steady, reliable offensive tackles on the market, Barksdale looked like a decent bet to land a deal similar to the $6MM-per-year pacts signed by Austin Howard and Anthony Collins in 2014.

According to various reports, Barksdale was seeking a contract in that range, or close to it, at the start of free agency. However, many teams in need of offensive line help opted to roll the dice on more affordable alternatives, or ones with more upside, such as the Jaguars with Jermey Parnell.

As our Dallas Robinson observed when he examined Barksdale’s free agent stock, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked the former Ram just 48th out of 84 qualified tackles. However, his +5.6 run-blocking grade placed him just outside the top 10 in that category.

Barksdale, who previously worked out for the Falcons and drew interest from the Titans and Rams, visited the Chargers this week before agreeing to terms with the team. Having re-signed King Dunlap to play left tackle and added Orlando Franklin as their probable starter at left guard, the Chargers are set on that side of the line, but have some question marks on the right side.

Although GM Tom Telesco suggested earlier in the offseason that he envisions D.J. Fluker playing right tackle in 2015, I’d expect Barksdale to challenge for the starting role at that spot, making Fluker a candidate to move inside.

The #Chargers will sign OT Joseph Barksdale to a 1-year deal, source said. Base minimum, $350K to sign, $1M more available in incentives.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 19, 2015

WOW, Joe lost some big money somewhere. He needs a different agent. imo

With Barksdale gone, rookie Havenstein takes over at right tackle
21m

Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/18590/with-barksdale-gone-rookie-havenstein-takes-over-at-right-tackle

SAN FRANCISCO — The writing was on the wall from the moment the writing on the St. Louis Rams’ second-round draft card read “Rob Havenstein, offensive tackle, Wisconsin.”

But in case those clues weren’t strong enough, what was already obvious became clear on Tuesday: Havenstein is the Rams’ right tackle of the future.

That’s because Joe Barksdale, the team’s incumbent right tackle, agreed to a contract with the San Diego Chargers after a long and arduous free-agent process. It was a journey that once started with hopes of him landing a multiyear deal in excess of $6 million per season and ended with him settling for a one-year “prove it” contract.

From the Rams’ perspective, losing Barksdale isn’t a surprise but it does remove a reliable piece. He’d proved to be a solid if unspectacular part of the offensive line, starting 29 games over the past two seasons. If nothing else, Barksdale was the one reliable lineman the team knew it could count on lining up in his usual spot every week and not dealing with growing pains or injury issues.

Barksdale also found himself struggling when facing some of the league’s better pass-rushers. Kansas City’s Justin Houston and Washington’s Ryan Kerrigan were among the types to give Barksdale problems in 2014. But for the most part, Barksdale was steady and reliable.

And Barksdale could still be a Ram were it not for an apparent miscalculation by his side on his worth on the free-agent market. Rams coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged at the March owners meetings that Barksdale’s initial price was part of the reason he was still available. Fisher also maintained that the Rams still had interest in retaining Barksdale.

That remained the company line for Fisher and general manager Les Snead, even as recently as their post-draft news conference. The reality, though, was that although the Rams probably did maintain some level of interest in keeping Barksdale, they had already moved on. For his part, Barksdale likely had too, as emotions can often play a role when a player finds himself on the market without a deal as long as he did.

In the draft, Fisher and Snead used four draft picks on offensive linemen, including Havenstein, and they immediately went about plugging him in as the likely starter on the right side.

“With big Rob, he is ready to play,” Snead said. “He’s a right tackle, started a ton of games – never missed any. They run the ball well up there. All of that translated to the Senior Bowl. He’s just a guy that knows his strengths and weaknesses and how to use them.”

Barring a major surprise, Havenstein will get the chance to use them sooner than later. With Barksdale on his way to San Diego, it’s Havenstein’s time to take over at right tackle. The future is now.

I have heard a lot of people that get Barksdale contract wrong. They seem to think he is getting 350k/year. He gets the vet minimum for 4-6 year players. That is 745K, plus a bonus of 350k, plus some rinky-dink incentives.

The fastlane guys seem to think that the Rams offered him either 16 or 14 million for 4 years before the draft.