Los Angeles Chargers sign G Ben Cleveland

Ben Cleveland's one-year, $1.215M signing earns a **C+ Contract Value Index (CVI)** — a floor-price deal that reflects exactly what he is: a depth guard on a veteran minimum pact with zero long-term commitment. The Chargers are essentially signing replacement-level depth here, offering no guarantees and no upside; at $1.215M, Cleveland slots into the sub-$2M tier reserved for camp bodies and late-roster insurance rather than a core contributor. The value equation is straightforward: Los Angeles gets a swing guard capable of providing rotation snaps at the lowest feasible cost, while Cleveland gets a one-year prove-it chance with no leverage, no dead cap risk, and full flexibility for both sides in 2027. With the Chargers sitting at 11–6 and currently holding a playoff seed, this is not a win-now reinforcement—it's organizational due diligence at the margins, the kind of low-stakes depth signing that every playoff team executes in the offseason. The CVI grade reflects exactly that calculus: neither organization nor player overpays, neither gains structural advantage, and both retain complete optionality. This is a neutral-value transaction that costs nothing and demands nothing, which is precisely the intent.