Royal is a done deal

With an emphasis on adding blazing speed to their group of wide receivers, the San Diego Chargers polished off that goal by signing Eddie Royal, formerly of the Denver Broncos, this evening. All of the terms of the contract have not been released, but the length of the deal is believed to be three years.

Royal, along with the just signed Robert Meachem, should add a dimension that's been missing in the Chargers' aerial attack: turning short receptions into long gains. Over the last five seasons San Diego has relied on big, power forward-bodied pass-catchers who could jump high and outmuscle defenders for receptions. It's worked well, but it became quite clear last season that San Diego needed receivers who could gain more separation from opposing defenses' coverages.

"That's something that we really haven't had a ton of, is the run after catch, the big play from the wide receivers," Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said when talking about Meachem during an interview with XX1090's Darren Smith yesterday.

After entering the NFL as a second-round pick in 2008, Royal caught 91 passes for 980 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. His numbers went down in 2009 (37 receptions for 345 yards and no touchdowns), up in 2010 (59 receptions for 627 yards and three touchdowns), and down again in 2011 (19 receptions for 155 yards and one touchdown). Much of that can be attributed to instability at the quarterback position, as Denver went from Jay Cutler to Kyle Orton to Tim Tebow. Royal has also played for three different head coaches (Mike Shanahan, Josh McDaniels, and John Fox) in four years. Royal was also limited by a concussion and groin injuries last season.

Royal is also a dynamic kick/punt returner, which the Chargers missed in 2011 after Darren Sproles left for New Orleans last summer. In four years Royal has returned one kickoff and two punts for touchdowns. He's produced a 24.1-yard average on kickoffs and 11.9 on punts. He's returned just eight kickoffs in the last two years. In 2011, he had a 16.1-yard average and one touchdown on 12 punt returns.

In addition to the Chargers' pursuit of Royal, the Washington Redskins showed immense interest, and Cutler, now quarterback of the Chicago Bears, expressed his wishes for a reunion with the former Bronco, as the two played together in Denver during the 2008 season.

"I would love to see Eddie here," Cutler said on ESPN 1000's "The Waddle & Silvy Show".

"If we get him, that would be great. I know he would fit in. He's a great teammate. It would be like old times."

Sorry, Jay!

With Meachem, Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd, and Vincent Brown already on San Diego's roster, some may believe Royal will struggle to make a heavy contribution in the Chargers' offense. Head coach Norv Turner is an offensive mastermind, though, so Royal will surely be utilized to the best of his abilities. And by making this signing, general manager A.J. Smith can cross wide receiver off his needs list for April's draft.