“Ideal Scenario” For Chargers To Sign LB Manti Te’o To Multi-Year Extension?

Eric D. Williams of ESPN writes that after an increase in production last year, the ideal scenario for the Chargers would be to sign ILB Manti Te’o to a multi-year contract extension.

However, Williams admits that Te’o must prove he can stay healthy before the team gets serious about a long-term extension.

While the Chargers did use draft picks on Joshua Perry and Jatavis Brown, Williams seems to think San Diego would prefer to have Te’o and Denzel Perryman as their starting inside linebackers for the foreseeable future. This would leave Perry and Brown as depth options for the Chargers moving forward.

Te’o, 25, is a former second-round pick of the Chargers back in 2013. He’s currently in the final year of his our-year, $5.172 million rookie contract and stands to make a base salary of $1,110,330 for the 2016 season.

In 2015, Te’o appeared in 12 games for the Chargers and recorded 83 tackles, a half sack, one interception, a forced fumble and two pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 93 linebacker out of 97 qualifying players.