This offseason, the Chargers elected to move on from two veteran receivers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
Fellow receiver Joshua Palmer has been with Los Angeles since 2021 and was close to both Allen and Williams. He said in a recent interview with Eric Smith of the team’s website that it was a clear change for the locker room without the two wideouts.
“Definitely different when you’re used to having your two best friends out there and now they are not,” Palmer said. “But they’re nothing but a phone call away and I’m ready to move forward.”
Palmer added that he “was a little sad” when L.A. moved on from the pair “because they were my good friends and I looked up to Keenan and Mike. From a football standpoint, it’s a business.”
As a 2021 draft pick, Palmer is now one of the older players in Los Angeles’ receivers room along with free-agent signee DJ Chark. Palmer noted he doesn’t necessarily see himself as a leader, though he feels the group is coming together and taking shape.
“We have a lot of different personalities and a lot of different guys,” Palmer said. “Only a couple guys are back from last season so everyone is fairly new and we’re all learning each other.”
Aside from Palmer and Chark, the Chargers will likely rely on last year’s first-round pick Quentin Johnston and rookie second-round pick Ladd McConkey as primary pass-catchers for quarterback Justin Herbert in 2024.