Tag: Chargers depth chart

7 toughest cuts from our Chargers 53-man roster prediction

Looking at the toughest cuts from our Chargers 53-man roster projection following the second round of cuts.

We are a little less than a week away until we know how the Chargers 53-man roster for 2021 season will shape up.

With 27 players to cut, that means there will be some tough decisions to make as they fill out their team.

Going off of our latest 53-man roster projection, here were some of the most difficult cuts to make.

QB Easton Stick

I’m a firm believer that Los Angeles should carry two quarterbacks. While Stick has some momentum on his side, I find it difficult to believe that the team will cut Chase Daniel, who brings the knowledge with Joe Lombardi’s offense and mentorship to aide in Herbert’s transition. However, with another strong performance on Saturday against the Seahawks and Stick could have the Chargers considering rolling into the season with three signal-callers.

RB Darius Bradwell

Aside from Larry Rountree, Bradwell has been the most efficient rusher throughout the preseason. He has also made some key plays on special teams. While this may seem like enough to earn the final spot, I still believe that the coaches will roll the dice with the talent of Justin Jackson, despite injury concerns, and the untapped potential of Joshua Kelley. Bradwell should be a strong practice squad candidate, should he not make the roster.

TE Stephen Anderson

I went back and forth with this one, but I kept Anderson off of the 53-man roster for the first time since I started making predictions. The reason for that is because of Gabe Nabers, who has played a similar role. I believe Nabers offers more upside as a blocker, has shown potential as a pass-catcher and most importantly, has been lauded by the coaches for his special teams ability.

DL Joe Gaziano

I’ve always been a fan of Gaziano since he came out of Northwestern, and after making the move inside he has flashed a ton. The one thing that could hurt his chances from earning a spot, however, is that there are a handful of other interior defenders that have performed very well. In this case, I went with the more experienced Cortez Broughton, who has looked like an entirely different player this summer.

NT Forrest Merrill

Like Gaziano, Merrill is in a tough situation because of how great the position group has been as a whole. Merrill, the undrafted free agent, has been a menace in the middle of the defensive line — consistently getting penetration and eating up double teams. Although he’s raised eyebrows, Breiden Fehoko gets the nod for his play and infectious energy he brings to the team.

EDGE Emeke Egbule

I viewed Egbule as a player that would benefit from the defensive switch and while he’s done good things, especially on special teams, he’s recently been sidelined with an injury, which has led to other players flashing like Jessie Lemonier. In this scenario, I have the team rolling with four edge defenders and both players not making the team altogether to save a roster spot for another position group.

CB John Brannon

The defensive backs have benefited from head coach Brandon Staley immensely, which has made it extremely difficult to figure out who will make the squad. While Brannon has led the team in interceptions this summer, players like Tevaughn Campbell and Kemon Hall were given the final spots simply because of their versatility in the secondary and special teams upside.

Chargers 53-man roster prediction after second round of cuts

Projecting the Chargers 53-man roster ahead of the preseason finale against the Seahawks.

With two games of the preseason in the books, the Chargers sliced their roster from 85 to 80 players ahead of their final contest this weekend.

Following the second round of cuts, here’s our updated 53-man roster prediction for Los Angeles.

Quarterbacks (2): Justin Herbert, Chase Daniel

Misses the cut: Easton Stick

Running backs (4): Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley, Larry Rountree III

Misses the cut: Darius Bradwell

Fullbacks (1): Gabe Nabers

Misses the cut: Hunter Kampmoyer

Wide receivers (6): Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton, Tyron Johnson, Josh Palmer, K.J. Hill

Misses the cut: Joe Reed, Jason Moore, John Hurst

Tight ends (3): Jared Cook, Donald Parham, Tre’ McKitty

Misses the cut: Stephen Anderson

Offensive linemen (9): Rashawn Slater, Matt Feiler, Corey Linsley, Oday Aboushi, Bryan Bulaga, Trey Pipkins, Brenden Jaimes, Storm Norton, Scott Quessenberry

Misses the cut: Tyree St. Louis, Nate Gilliam, Ryan Hunter

Defensive linemen (6): Linval Joseph, Justin Jones, Jerry Tillery, Christian Covington, Breiden Fehoko, Cortez Broughton

Misses the cut: Joe Gaziano, Willie Yarbary, Forrest Merrill

Edge defender (4): Joey Bosa, Uchenna Nwosu, Kyler Fackrell, Chris Rumph II

Misses the cut: Jessie Lemonier, Emeke Egbule, Davin Bellamy

Linebackers (5): Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill, Kyzir White, Nick Niemann, Cole Christiansen

Misses the cut: Amen Ogbongbemiga

Defensive backs (10): Michael Davis, Asante Samuel, Jr., Chris Harris, Jr., Brandon Facyson, Tevaughn Campbell, Kemon Hall, Derwin James, Nasir Adderley, Alohi Gilman, Mark Webb

Misses the cut: John Brannon, Ryan Smith

Specialists (3): Tristan Vizcaino, Ty Long, Matt Overton

Misses the cut: Michael Badgley, Cole Mazza

Chargers trim roster to 80 players

The Los Angeles Chargers cut the roster to 80 players.

The Chargers had to get the roster to 80 players by 1 pm PT on Tuesday.

The team announced the players released are:

LS Ryan Langan

WR Austin Proehl

TE Matt Seybert

OT Kyle Spalding

LB Damon Lloyd and DL Chris Okoye were waived with injury designations, which means they will revert to Reserve/Injured if they go unclaimed on waivers.

In correspondence, safety Nasir Adderley was activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Kyler Fackrell signing paying dividends for Chargers

The Chargers appear to have a gem in Kyler Fackrell.

To add depth to the edge defender room, the Chargers signed Kyler Fackrell earlier this offseason.

Originally seen just as a rotational piece, Fackrell has solidified himself as an integral player at the position.

While Joey Bosa has been sidelined from the preseason action, Fackrell has taken advantage of his playing time – not only making an impact at rushing the passer but defending the run.

In two games, Fackrell has amassed six quarterback pressures, three hurries, two QB hits and a sack. In the run department, he has been disciplined and patient to stack the edge and cut off carries to the outside.

In five seasons in the league, Fackrell has 20.5 sacks, with his most productive season coming in 2018 when he had 10.5 sacks during his time with the Packers.

This summer, he and Uchenna Nwosu have been battling it out for the No. 2 spot opposite Bosa, and it’s been Fackrell who has proven himself as the more superior player.

Regardless of who wins the job, both players are expected to still play often during the season because of the many different packages in head coach Brandon Staley’s defense.

“I want to play as much as possible,” Fackrell said. “I know Uchenna and Joey are great players. It’s hard to go 100 percent playing every snap, but we will have a decent rotation. I will be looking to contribute any way I can.”

4 Chargers on roster bubble who helped themselves in preseason loss to 49ers

Find out which Chargers players on the bubble helped their cause against the 49ers.

The Chargers were unable build off of their preseason opener victory, falling short to the 49ers by the score of 15-10.

For the most part, the presumed starters that did play didn’t see the field all that much, which left more opportunities for players that are fighting for a roster spot to prove themselves to the coaching staff.

With that being said, let’s take a look at four bubble players who helped their cause on Sunday evening.

QB Easton Stick

In nearly all of my 53-man roster projections, Stick has been the odd-man out while Chase Daniel has been given the nod. But he might have moved the needle a little bit with his outing. The third-year player out of North Dakota State was not all that efficient in the early going, considering the majority of his passes were check downs. Eventually, Stick connected with Jalen Guyton for a 39-yard completion. It didn’t help that the offensive line did him no favors, but Stick mitigated that by using his legs to buy more time to throw the ball, including his lone touchdown pass to Josh Palmer.

EDGE Jessie Lemonier

With Chris Rumph II and Emeke Egbule sidelined, Lemonier had more opportunities to prove himself. Using his pass-rush repertoire, first step explosiveness and motor, Lemonier posted four tackles, two quarterback pressures and a sack on Trey Lance in the third quarter. If the Chargers decide to keep five edge defenders, his performances could very well earn him the last spot.

DT Willie Yarbary

For the second week in a row, the team’s interior defensive line flashed. On Sunday evening, Yarbary, a former Wake Forest product who recently played in The Spring League, was among the crop who stood out. Yarbary posted three run stops, one of which was a monstrous hit on Wayne Gallman.

DT Forrest Merrill

Behind Linval Joseph, the nose tackle depth is rather thin. But Merrill showed why he could be a viable option to back him up. Consistently getting penetration and eating up double teams, Merrill was a force to be a reckoned with. There should be a role for him on the active roster.

Chargers 53-man roster projection ahead of 2nd preseason game

Predicting who makes the Chargers 53-man roster ahead of their second preseason game against the 49ers.

This past week, the Chargers trimmed their roster down from 90 to 85 players.

There’s a little bit of time until the team has to finalize the 53-man roster, but we have gotten a good idea of which players might have advantages after 17 practices and a preseason game.

Using the insight we learned up to this point, here’s a look at the players that I believe make the roster.

Quarterbacks (2): Justin Herbert, Chase Daniel

Misses the cut: Easton Stick, K.J. Costello

Running backs (4): Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley, Larry Rountree III

Misses the cut: Darius Bradwell

Fullbacks (1): Gabe Nabers

Misses the cut: Hunter Kampmoyer

Wide receivers (6): Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton, Tyron Johnson, Josh Palmer, Austin Proehl

Misses the cut: Joe Reed, K.J. Hill, Jason Moore, John Hurst

Tight ends (3): Jared Cook, Donald Parham, Tre’ McKitty,

Misses the cut: Stephen Anderson

Offensive linemen (9): Rashawn Slater, Matt Feiler, Corey Linsley, Oday Aboushi, Bryan Bulaga, Trey Pipkins, Brenden Jaimes, Storm Norton, Scott Quessenberry

Misses the cut: Tyree St. Louis, Nate Gilliam, Ryan Hunter, Kyle Spalding

Defensive linemen (6): Linval Joseph, Justin Jones, Jerry Tillery, Christian Covington, Breiden Fehoko, Joe Gaziano

Misses the cut: Cortez Broughton, T.J. Smith, Forrest Merrill

Edge defender (5): Joey Bosa, Uchenna Nwosu, Kyler Fackrell, Chris Rumph II, Emeke Egbule

Misses the cut: Jesse Lemonier

Linebackers (5): Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill, Kyzir White, Nick Niemann, Amen Ogbongbemiga

Misses the cut: Cole Christiansen

Defensive backs (9): Michael Davis, Asante Samuel, Jr., Chris Harris, Jr., Kemon Hall, John Brannon, Derwin James, Nasir Adderley, Alohi Gilman, Mark Webb

Misses the cut: Tevaughn Campbell, Brandon Facyson, Ryan Smith

Specialists (3): Tristan Vizcaino, Ty Long, Matt Overton

Misses the cut: Michael Badgley, Cole Mazza

Pair of Chargers cornerbacks making strong cases for final roster spots

Chargers cornerbacks John Brannon and Kemon Hall have impressed this summer.

Leading up into the preseason, I had five cornerbacks projected to make the 53-man roster: Michael Davis, Chris Harris Jr., Asante Samuel Jr., Brandon Facyson and Donte Vaughn.

Davis, Harris and Samuel are essentially locks to make the cut, but beyond them is where it’s tough to predict who will make the team, because of a pair of under-the-radar corners that have made their cases to stick around.

Those two are John Brannon and Kemon Hall.

Heading into the contest against the Rams as the leader in interceptions in training camp with three, Brannon put himself at the top in the category in preseason play after picking off Devlin Hodges on a fourth-down play from the Bolts’ five-yard line that would’ve tied the game.

“Really excited for him because he’s been working so hard,” head coach Brandon Staley said about Brannon. “He’s got so far to go, but his heart, his spirit is right, and we’re going to keep coaching him.”

Hall, on the other hand, helped himself by making plays in all phases. He and Alohi Gilman forced a fumble. Hall also generated a quarterback pressure to Bryce Perkins that forced him to throw the ball away. The play right after, he broke up a pass on third down.

“He gives you a little bit of inside/outside flex,” Staley said. “Then he’s got a really good body type for special teams because he’s strong and he’s fast. He can do a bunch of jobs on teams.”

Even after strong performances in practices and Los Angeles’ opener, Brannon and Hall still aren’t locks to make the final roster. But if they keep at this pace and special teams standout Ryan Smith is not ready to return from his lingering injury, it will be difficult to let them go.

Chargers trim roster to 85 players

The Los Angeles Chargers have trimmed their roster down to 85 players.

The Chargers have trimmed their roster down to 85 players ahead of the mandatory cut deadline, which is at 1 pm PT.

Yesterday, Los Angeles cut three and added long snapper Matt Overton to bring the roster to 86 players.

To get it to 85, L.A. released quarterback K.J. Costello and tight end Matt Seybert and signed edge defender Davin Ballamy on Tuesday.

This is the first of three roster cuts the Chargers are required to make, with the league’s new rule that started this year.

Here’s a look at the rest of the mandatory cut dates:

  • Tuesday, August 24: Down to 80.
  • Tuesday, August 31: Down to 53.

Chargers roster moves: 3 players released

Ahead of the mandatory roster cuts, the Chargers released three players.

Prior to signing long snapper Matt Overton, the Chargers released three players to get their roster down to 85 ahead of the mandatory roster cuts by 1 pm PT on Tuesday.

Los Angeles let go of kicker Alex Kessman, punter Lachlan Edwards and wide receiver Michael Bandy.

With Kessman gone, the competition for the starting kicker comes down to Michael Badgley and Tristan Vizcaino, while Ty Long now remains the only punter on the roster.

After the acquisition of Overton, the roster currently sits at 86 players, one more than the deadline threshold.

With Cole Mazza dealing with a shoulder injury that he sustained in the preseason opener, the plan could be to place him on the injured reserve, which would then meet the number requirement.

Or, the team could be intending to release another player by tomorrow.

Report: Chargers signing long snapper Matt Overton

The Chargers are adding another long snapper.

The Chargers added a player to the roster on Monday.

Los Angeles is signing veteran long snapper Matt Overton, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

The acquisition comes after the team’s current long snapper, Cole Mazza, suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason opener against the Rams.

Overton, 36, is in his ninth NFL season. This wouldn’t mark the first time Overton has walked through the doors of the Bolts headquarters, as he was signed in November of 2019, but was released three days later.

Most recently, he played for the Titans in 2020. Prior to that, Overton snapped for the Colts (2012-16), in which he made the Pro Bowl in 2013, and the Jaguars (2017-18).