After career season, Elijah Molden agrees to three-year deal with Chargers
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Chargers safety Elijah Molden agreed to a contract extension with the Chargers, the team announced Thursday. The deal is for three years, according to a person familiar with the deal not authorized to speak publicly.
The contract, first reported by NFL Media, keeps Molden in L.A. after he was acquired in a trade less than two weeks before the start of last season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent next month.
Molden, 26, had a career year with the Chargers, starting 12 games with three interceptions and 75 tackles. He finished the year on injured reserve after breaking his left fibula in Week 17, but said after the season that he anticipated a quick recovery because he avoided surgery. He was expecting to begin running again after only six weeks despite also requiring a minor surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
The Chargers announce they will open the NFL season in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 5 as part of the NFL’s international series.
With one crutch propped up next to him while he cleaned out his locker, Molden said he already had communicated to the Chargers front office that he wanted to return after the team traded a seventh-round pick to Tennessee for him in August and inserted the former nickel back into the starting lineup at safety. He helped anchor the defense that led the NFL, giving up 17.7 points per game.
“This is a place that I would love to play,” he said last month. “This is a place where that kind of revitalized my career.”
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