The San Diego Chargers filled their need for a starting tight end early Friday morning, reaching agreement with unrestricted free agent Stephen Alexander, ESPN.com has learned.

	Alexander

Coming off an injury-marred season with the Washington Redskins, in which he played in only seven games, Alexander is penciled in to replace Freddie Jones as the starter. The Chargers cut Jones just before the starting of the free agency period for salary cap purposes.

Alexander, 26, will sign a five-year contract worth $15 million and including a signing bonus of $3 million. He will earn a base salary of $525,000 for 2002 and his 2003 base salary of $2.775 million is guaranteed.

The deal reunites Alexander with head coach Marty Schottenheimer, for whom he playdd in 2001, when both were in Washington. A four-year veteran, Alexander made several visits in the opening two weeks of free agency, including stops on Houston and Dallas.

The former Oklahoma star was once among the league's fastest tight ends, and had the ability to split the safeties deep up the middle of the field, but injuries have taken away some quickness. Still, he remains a proven intermediate threat and, if healthy, will be a dependable target for the San Diego quarterbacks.

He averaged 37.7 catches over the first three seasons of his career but then dropped off to only nine receptions for 85 yards in 2001 as he battled leg injuries. Just a year earlier, Alexander had career highs in receptions (47) and receiving yards (510).

A second-round choice of the Redskins in the 1998 draft, Alexander has appeared in 53 games and has 41 starts. He has 122 receptions for 1,302 yards and nine touchdowns.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.