Jeromey Clary took a pay cut last week. He went from having $4.55 million salary to having a $1.6 million salary, but the $1.6 is completely guaranteed. This move has two results. The first is it created $2.95 million more in cap space for the Chargers, which they will most likely hold in reserve for in-season moves. The second is that Jeromey Clary, currently on the PUP List, will almost certainly be a Charger all year. The Chargers had drafted Chris Watt (who was running with the 1's in practice in Clary's place) and still have Johnnie Troutman as a back up Guard. A bloated salary and an injury are not things a seemingly replaceable veteran wants to have going into cut weeks. But $1.6 million dollars is a very reasonable number to have a guy like Clary at, given that his teammates and coaches love him and he's a tough competitor. Also, the Chargers would give themselves no more cap room by cutting him now.
If the Chargers only keep 8 Offensive Linemen on their 53 man roster, Johnnie Troutman may be fighting Rich Ohrnberger for the 8th spot. The Line is expected to return all 5 starters from last year (Dunlap, Rinehart, Hardwick, Clary, Fluker) plus Watt and Michael Harris, the first two back ups at Guard and Tackle. Watt has played some Center in camp, but if Ohrnberger or Troutman show they can play Center or Tackle reasonably well, they may guarantee themselves a spot over their teammate.