San Diego Chargers free agent bust Jared Gaither

The San Diego Chargers' signing of left tackle Jared Gaither last season was universally viewed as a boom or bust signing. It turned out to be an epic bust for former GM A.J. Smith.

New GM Tom Telesco made the decision to cut the organizations loss on Wednesday; the team announced Gaither has been released. The move will cause a significant amount of dead money to be placed on the Chargers' cap this season, but Gaither was essentially dead to the Chargers after an awful year. The Chargers will eat a $6 million cap hit to not keep him on the roster.

Gaither was handed $13.5 million guaranteed last year, including $8 million to sign. He wound up starting four games and was questioned openly about his work ethic. Teammates and writers both suggested Gaither was milking a back injury and didn't really want to play.

"I can't even look him in the eye," one veteran Charger told Kevin Acee of the U-T San Diego in December. Another one said: "(Expletiving) Gaither. He (expletiving) cost us big-time."

Two teams that badly need tackles have given up on Gaither in successive seasons. He's supremely talented, but it's safe to say he won't get a huge (expletiving) contract from an NFL team ever again