Source: RB Gus Edwards to get 2-year deal with Chargers
Edwards now will be reunited with former Ravens and current Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman. And he now goes from being coached by John Harbaugh to his brother Jim.
His addition to the Chargers comes as running back Austin Ekeler is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Edwards has been a major reason why the Ravens produced the most rushing yards (17,484) in the NFL since 2018. Despite sharing the backfield with Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins, he has run for 3,395 yards, the most by a Baltimore running back over the last six seasons.
• Tracking deals, cuts, trades | Key dates
• Ranking top 100 free agents (ESPN+)
• Grading the biggest moves (ESPN+)
• Every coach hiring | Franchise tags
• NFL draft order | Top draft prospects
In 2023, after Dobbins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1, Edwards took over as Baltimore’s primary back and repeatedly found the end zone, although he lacked his usual explosiveness. His 13 touchdown runs were tied for the third-most by an NFL rushing back last season, and he fell one shy of tying the Ravens’ single-season franchise record. But he averaged 4.1 yards per carry, the first time in his career that he was held under five yards per attempt.
Edwards, 28, and Nick Chubb are the only two players in NFL history to start their career with three straight seasons of 700-plus rushing yards and at least 5.0 yards per carry. That streak ended just four days before the 2021 regular-season opener, when he tore an ACL in practice. He has since returned to play the next two seasons, becoming the team’s most consistent runner between the tackles.
After going undrafted out of Rutgers in 2018, Edwards cracked the starting lineup as a rookie once Lamar Jackson took over as the starting quarterback midway through that season and Baltimore switched to a run-pass option offense. He owns the most rushing yards and rushing touchdowns (26) by an undrafted player in Ravens history.
ESPN’s Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.