Alex Leatherwood, Chargers Agree to Contract; Former Raiders 1st-Round NFL Draft Pick

The Los Angeles Chargers announced Wednesday they signed free-agent offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood.

Leatherwood, a first-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, last suited up in 2022 with the Chicago Bears and appeared in four games. He was on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad for the duration of the 2023 season.

Leatherwood started all 17 games as a rookie for the Raiders, but their decision to move him from right tackle to right guard symbolized his struggles out of the gate.

The state of disarray surrounding the organization led ownership to clean house, too, with a new head coach and general manager entering the fold. Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler wasted little time moving on from Leatherwood, cutting him ahead of the 2022 regular season after unsuccessfully attempting to find a trade partner.

The 25-year-old's lack of playing time since then has so far shown McDaniels and Ziegler's assessment of his game to be correct.

Leatherwood showed plenty of potential coming out of college at Alabama. He was a unanimous All-American and the Outland Trophy winner as a senior.

But the expected success has yet to materialize.

There isn't much risk in taking a flier on Leatherwood and he's young enough to where he still might be able to put it all together in the right setting. At the very least, he might be able to provide some depth to an offensive line that has been snakebitten in recent years.