The Chargers have signed 29-year old outside linebacker Travis LaBoy to a 2-year deal.  LaBoy played in 14 games for the 49ers last year and he had 28 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  LaBoy has now played in 81 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 164 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 28.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 8 passes defensed and he has 1 interception.  LaBoy should be able to help the Chargers on passing downs as he is a pretty good pass rusher.

The Chargers have released 29-year old TE Kris Wilson.  Wilson played in 14 games (7 starts) for the Chargers last year and he caught 6 passes for 73 yards (12.2 avg).  Wilson played in 33 games (7 starts) in his three years with the Chargers and he caught 10 passes for 101 yards (10.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Wilson was a decent backup TE but the Chargers should be able to get by without him on the team.

The Chargers have released 30-year old cornerback Donald Strickland and 25-year old linebacker Brandon Lang.  Stickland played in 16 games for the Chargers last year and he had 23 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  Lang played in 10 games as a rookie last year for the Chargers and he had 1 whole tackle.  The Chargers won’t miss these guys at all moving forward.

The Chargers have re-signed 26-year old linebacker Antwan Barnes to a 2-year, $3.2 million dollar deal.  Barnes played in 11 games for the Chargers last year and he had 22 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and he defensed 1 pass.  Barnes has now played in 51 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 62 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 4 passes defensed.  Barnes has turned into a pretty solid linebacker, so the Chargers are glad to have him back in 2011.

The Chargers have signed 26-year old safety Eric Weddle to a multi-year deal.  Weddle played in 16 games for the Chargers last year and he had 96 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1/2 a sack, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and he also defensed 10 passes.  Weddle has now played in 60 games in his first four years with the Chargers and he has 358 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 6 interceptions (2 returned for TDs) and he also defensed 28 passes.  This was a great move for the Chargers as Weddle was very popular in free agency.

The San Diego Chargers have released 25-year old WR Craig Davis.  Davis played in 7 games (1 start) for the Chargers last year and he caught 21 passes for 259 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He played in 26 games (2 starts) in his first four years with the Chargers and he caught 51 passes for 558 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Davis just couldn’t stay healthy with the Chargers and that is the biggest reason why he’s looking for a new job right now.  Some team will give him another chance in 2011.

The Chargers have released 25-year old linebacker Antwan Applewhite.  Applewhite played in 16 games for the Chargers last year and he had 48 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 passes defensed.  Applewhite played in 30 games in his two years in San Diego and he had 68 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 passes defensed.  I’m a little surprised by this cut as Applewhite played pretty decent for the Chargers last year.

The Chargers have signed 34-year old inside linebacker Takeo Spikes.  Spikes played in all 16 games for the 49ers last year and he had 109 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery, 3 interceptions and he defensed 9 passes.  Spikes has now played in 187 games in his first 13 years in the NFL and he has 1,239 tackles, 41 tackles for a loss, 27.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 17 fumble recoveries, 18 interceptions (3 returned for TDs) and he has defensed 65 passes.  Spikes will give the Chargers’ D more thump against the running game, as he proved last year that he still has plenty left in his gas tank.

The Chargers have released 27-year old linebacker Jyles Tucker.  Tucker played in only 3 games for the Chargers last year and he had 3 tackles and 1 sack.  Tucker played in 29 games in four seasons with the Chargers and he had 56 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, forced 2 fumbles, he recovered 2 fumbles and he defensed 1 pass.  Tucker just couldn’t stay healthy with the Chargers so they decided to cut bait with him.  Some team will give him a chance in 2011.

Chuck Muncie was the perfect RB for the Chargers when Dan Fouts was QB.  That’s because he liked to pound the ball between the tackles.  Muncie played in 51 games in his 5 years with the Chargers and he carried the ball 773 times for 3,309 yards (4.3 ypc) with 43 TD runs.  He also also caught 138 passes for 1,237 yards (9.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs for the Chargers.  His best season with the Chargers came back in 1981.  Muncie played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Chargers in 1981 and he carried the ball 251 times for 1,144 yards (4.6 ypc) with 19 TD runs (led the NFL).  He also caught 43 passes for 362 yards (8.4 avg) in 1981.  Muncie made it to 2 Pro Bowls in his five years with the Chargers.  Muncie is #5 in Chargers’ history in rushing yards (3,309) and he’s also #2 in rushing TDs (43) in team history.