HE’S COMING: Jim Harbaugh has added another receiver with a familiar…
ALLEN PARK — Jim Harbaugh has added another receiver with a familiar name to his rebuild in Los Angeles, inking former Detroit Lions wideout DJ Chark to a one-year deal according to multiple reports.
A second-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2018 draft, Chark oozes WR1 traits, but injuries suppressed his value when he hit free agency for the first time in 2022. The Lions were looking for an outside threat at the time, and signed Chark to a one-year, $10 million prove-it deal that seemed like a win-win for both player and team. Detroit got the outside help it needed, while Chark got a one-year audition to show he could stay healthy and then cash in
Instead, Chark battled more injuries during his lone season in Detroit, limiting him to 30 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games. He was not seriously pursued by the Lions last offseason, and signed another prove-it deal with the Panthers in free agency instead. He caught 35 passes for 525 yards and five touchdowns, one of which came in a 42-24 loss against Detroit at Ford Field.
“I got a lot of lifelong relationships that I built in that short amount of time,” Chark said that day. “I’m all in with this (Lions) locker room, so it sucks that we didn’t win, but hats off to them. It took them a while to build this, and they’re doing good, and so it didn’t just happen in Season 1 or Season 2. They’re in Season 3 of that rebuild, and it’s looking good for ‘em. So hats off to ‘em for sure.”
Now Chark has signed another one-year rental agreement with Harbaugh’s Chargers, who are dealing with the loss of Mike Williams (Jets) and Keenan Allen (Bears). In addition to Chark, they spent a second-round pick on Georgia’s Ladd McConkey in last week’s draft
