The Chargers continued to give quarterback Philip Rivers more weapons by signing Denver free agent Eddie Royal. He will likely be the No. 3 or No. 4 receiver in San Diego, depending on the development of second-year receiver Vincent Brown. He was not in the Broncos’ plans. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that it is a three-year deal worth $13.5 million with $6 million in guaranteed money.
But the Chargers will get good use out of Royal, who also gives them a threat in the punt return game. San Diego missed a spark in the return game last year with the absence of Darren Sproles.
Royal made a splash in his rookie year (2008) with 91 catches for 980 yards and five TDs, catching 70.5% of the 129 targets he received from Jay Cutler. After Cutler left, Royal was unable to develop a rapport with Kyle Orton and most recently, Tim Tebow, catching just 115 passes over the next three seasons with a dreadful Rec % of 49.4%. It will be interesting to see how he fares with an upgrade at QB (Philip Rivers), though he's joining a passing game that already features Malcom Floyd, Robert Meachem, Vincent Brown and Antonio Gates, so he may have a tough time getting the necessary targets to make much of a fantasy impact in standard leagues.
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