The Los Angeles Chargers have agreed to a one-year deal with former Tennessee Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Fulton hoped to set himself up for a big payday entering his fourth season in 2023, but those aspirations were cut short by hamstring and groin injuries that kept him out of six games, eventually leading to him being placed on season-ending injured reserve in late December.
Fulton, who turns 25 in September, showed a glimpse of his potential against the Pittsburgh Steelers last season when he held George Pickens to two catches for minus-1 yards. He finished the season without an interception and with five passes defended.
Injuries plagued his four years with the Titans, as he missed 23 games. When healthy, Fulton is a willing tackler against the run and has the versatility to play the nickel and outside cornerback spots.
The Titans selected Fulton in the second round of the 2020 draft out of LSU, where he won a national championship playing opposite Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley in 2019.
In four NFL seasons, Fulton has appeared in 42 games with 37 starts and totaled 150 tackles, 1 sack, 4 interceptions and 25 passes defended.
The Chargers’ secondary was this defense’s Achilles heel last season. The starting cornerback position opposite of Asante Samuel Jr. was somewhat of a revolving door throughout the season, with Michael Davis, J.C. Jackson and Deane Leonard all starting at different points due to different shortcomings. The Chargers finished the season allowing 249.8 yards passing per game, which ranked 29th in the NFL and was their highest since 2013.
Fulton is the first cornerback the Chargers signed this offseason and will likely compete for the starting spot with players the Chargers add through the draft and free agency. Chargers’ General manager Joe Hortiz told reporters that cornerback is a position he will never “stop chasing.”
“I’ve been on teams where you start the year out with six good corners,” Hortiz said, “and you finish the year out signing guys in December, that come and start in two weeks. So it’s an important position.”
NFL Network first reported the deal.
ESPN’s Turron Davenport and Kris Rhim contributed to this report.
