1987 San Diego Chargers season

San Diego lost a future Hall of Fame wide receiver when Charlie Joiner announced his retirement.[1] Joiner finished as the career leader in receptions (750) and receiving yards (12,146).[2] At 39, he considered himself too old to play on, but switched to a new role as the Chargers' receiving coach.[3] The Chargers also traded their third-leading wide receiver from 1986,[4] Trumaine Johnson, to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for linebacker David Brandon and a 3rd-round draft pick.[5] They also switched backup running backs, trading Buford McGee and two future draft picks to the Rams in exchange for Barry Redden.[6] McGee had scored seven touchdowns in the first nine weeks in 1986, but missed the final seven games after a double knee surgery;[4] Redden was a former 1st-round draft pick, but went on to have only 30 carries during his two years with the Chargers.[7] On the offensive line, the Chargers added Broderick Thompson, a former Cowboy who started only 3 games in 1987, but 76 out of a possible 80 from 1988-92.[8]

An established defensive player also left the active squad when linebacker Woodrow Lowe was placed on injured reserve during preseason; he did not play again, and was eventually released on 11 March 1988.[9] Lowe spent his entire career with the Chargers, appearing in 164 out of a possible 165 games from 1976 to 1986.[10] San Diego also added an established linebacker in Chip Banks, who had made the Pro Bowl in four of his five seasons with the Browns.[11] Banks had previously held out while in Cleveland; after playing a single season in San Diego, he did so again, and never played for the Chargers again after 1987.[12] On the defensive line, San Diego picked up Mike Charles, a nose tackle recently cut by Miami.[13] He went on to start 25 games during three years with the Chargers.[14] Meanwhile, defensive end Earl Wilson, who had started 15 games over the past two seasons, was cut after Week 1.[15] He was arrested as part of a drug investigation later the same day, though the Chargers stated the timing was coincidental and his release was based purely on performance.[16] In the defensive backfield, San Diego traded cornerback Wayne Davis for Buffalo safety Martin Bayless.[17] Bayless started every non-strike game for the Chargers in 1987, and went on to start 66 times in total during five seasons in San Diego.[18]

The Chargers held a training camp battle for the placekicker position, eventually won by free agent acquisition Vince Abbott, who secured his first NFL job after losing four previous training camp battles.[19] This meant that veteran Rolf Benirschke lost his job after ten years in San Diego; he was traded to Dallas for a draft pick. Benirschke felt he wasn't given a fair chance to compete for the job after attempting no field goals in preseason. He left as the team's leading scorer (766 points), and the league's third-best kicker by career field goal percentage (70.2%),[20] though his accuracy had diminished through the past four seasons.[21]

After the league decided to use replacement players during the NFLPA strike, the following team was assembled: