King Dunlap Reportedly Will Be Released by Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers reportedly will cut offensive tackle King Dunlap, according to Peter Schrager of Fox Sports and Adam Caplan of ESPN.

The news comes in the wake of the team's signing of left tackle Russell Okung to a four-year contract Friday.

Whether Okung is an upgrade over Dunlap is a fair question, however, as Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus gave the signing an "F" grade:

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The headline figure for this contract looks insane, but though some reports had the guaranteed money at just $13.5 million, the later consensus seems to be a monstrous $25 million of guaranteed money, turning a one-year risk into a multi-year millstone for the Chargers. Okung remains a good run blocker—particularly on the backside of zone plays—but has his struggles in pass blocking, and was last solid in that regard in 2012.

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Former Chargers safety and current Baltimore Raven Eric Weddle had a few choice words for the organization after learning of Dunlap's release:

Dunlap signed a four-year, $28 million deal with the Chargers before the 2015 season and was set to earn a base salary of $5.75 million in 2017.

But the veteran left tackle has struggled to stay healthy the past two years, missing 13 games in that time, and was also arrested in February for violating a protective order. Additionally, the team owed him a $500,000 roster bonus by the end of the week, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

In other words, Dunlap's release was inevitable. Whether Okung ultimately represents an upgrade at left tackle will determine if the decision was the correct one.