Projecting the Chargers’ 17-man practice squad
The Chargers trimmed their roster to 53 on Tuesday, but the work in building the roster is not yet done. More moves will come before the opening of the season, beginning with the construction of LA’s practice squad on Wednesday afternoon.
While the NFL has a limit of 16 players on the practice squad, Los Angeles has an exemption to add defensive lineman CJ Okoye as a 17th player through the International Player Pathway Program. For that reason, this projection includes 17 players.
QB Max Duggan
For much of camp, it seemed like the Chargers would keep three QBs on the initial 53-man roster after drafting Duggan in the seventh round to defend against other teams outbidding them for the Heisman runner up as a UDFA. Duggan then barely played in the preseason, throwing just 15 passes in two games of action. He looked unprepared for the speed of NFL action, and with LA invested in Easton Stick’s development, there was simply no room for Duggan on the active roster.
General manager Tom Telesco said on Tuesday afternoon that the Chargers were aiming to sign Duggan to the practice squad as long as he clears waivers on Wednesday. There, he’ll get a redshirt year as the scout team quarterback. His rushing prowess makes him an ideal candidate to simulate the play-extending signal callers that populate the AFC.
WR Terrell Bynum
Undrafted rookie Pokey Wilson stole most of the headlines early on in camp, but I thought Bynum was a much more consistent performer once preseason action began. Bynum, a former Washington and USC player, was heavily involved in the first-half offensive gameplan in all three preseason games. The St. John Bosco alum isn’t a flashy player, but is reminiscent of receivers the Chargers have kept around in the past.
WR Keelan Doss
John Hightower’s camp has already indicated on Twitter that he will not be re-signed to the practice squad, making Doss one of the most obvious additions to this exercise. Nobody would have been surprised if the UC Davis product made the initial roster after a consistently good offseason. Instead, the Chargers kept only five receivers, with Jalen Guyton on the PUP list. Doss has the body type LA likes at the position and is one of the few receivers they cut with ample ability on the outside.
WR Pokey Wilson
For a moment, I considered putting Milton Wright in this spot. But the Chargers waived/injured Wright on Tuesday, meaning the undrafted rookie from Purdue will revert to injured reserve if he clears waivers on Wednesday. In his stead, Los Angeles will likely hang on to Wilson, the buzzy training camp performer whose hype train slowed with a quiet preseason. Still, it’s clear that Wilson has talent, and honing it further on the practice squad is a worthy gamble for the Chargers.
TE Hunter Kampmoyer
Kampmoyer profiles as a perpetual 54th man, as this would mark his third consecutive season on the Chargers practice squad. The Oregon tight end, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021, was a fixture on special teams during the preseason but doesn’t move the needle as an actual tight end. Expect only to see him elevated when the Chargers need special teams help.
TE Eric Tomlinson
Last season, the Chargers signed just one player to their practice squad who did not spend at least part of camp with the team. That player was veteran tight end Richard Rodgers, who was released by the Eagles before signing with LA’s practice squad before Week 1. Rodgers was immediately elevated the maximum of three times as the Chargers’ primary blocking tight end, then was signed to the 53-man roster before being placed on injured reserve in December.
Could Los Angeles turn to a similar solution without a clear option at blocking tight end entering this season? Tomlinson is a veteran tight end not subject to waivers and was released on Tuesday by the Texans. In 85 career games, the 31-year-old has only 27 career receptions, which should tell you that the UTEP product is essentially a sixth offensive lineman.
OT Austen Pleasants
The Chargers typically keep two offensive linemen on the practice squad: one tackle and one guard with the flexibility to play tackle or center. Telesco also said on Tuesday that the Chargers would have kept eleven offensive linemen on the 53-man roster if they had the space. They kept nine, and the tenth, Zack Bailey, was widely considered to be safe from the perils of Tuesday’s cut deadline. But that brought up one question: who was #11?
I’m willing to bet it was Pleasants, who played left and right tackle alongside Foster Sarell with the second team during the preseason. There are two reasons for this. First, Pleasants showed flashes in the preseason, although there were times when he struggled mightily with backup pass rushers. Second, the process of elimination: Matt Kaskey was waived/injured on Tuesday. The other two offensive linemen waived Johari Branch and Isaac Weaver, are primarily centers on a team already keeping three centers on the 53-man roster.
G Zack Bailey
Let’s check back in with Bailey, who was shockingly waived Tuesday after looking like arguably the Chargers’ best offensive lineman during the preseason. Bailey worked with the second team at guard, ahead of Brenden Jaimes, and put out good tape at tackle late in the preseason. Typically, he’s not the type of player you expose to waivers.
Now, with that out of the way, let’s also talk about waivers. Yes, it’s an anxiety-inducing bad process to expose a player like Bailey to waivers. But it’s also much less likely that the 27-year-old is claimed than you might think. Last year, the NFL lost just thirty-three players to waiver claims on the cutdown date. None were older than 26, and the average age of players claimed was 24.1. Typically, the players claimed are either rookies or second-year players who get a second chance based on their collegiate evaluations.
All this to say: I don’t think Bailey gets claimed. And if he makes it through waivers, the Chargers would be remiss not to sign him back to the practice squad.
DL Jerrod Clark
Again, the number of players getting claimed on waivers is minuscule compared to the general perception of the danger. It’s like quicksand. Clark played well in the preseason, effectively plugging holes in the run game for the Chargers. But he went undrafted four months ago for a reason, and it’s relatively unlikely that a team will change their mind about evaluating him based on three games of film.
I’ve long believed that Clark needed a year on the practice squad to fine-tune his body composition and adjust to the pro game after playing against mostly undersized linemen at Coastal Carolina. If he makes it through waivers and the season with the Chargers, I’d expect him to be firmly in the mix in 2024.
DL David Moa
I thought Moa had a decent chance at the 53-man roster after a solid second half of training camp, but Christopher Hinton and Nick Williams were more consistently impactful players. Still, Moa’s experience in the Chargers’ defensive scheme could prove valuable if needed, especially given LA’s propensity to pick up injuries on the defensive line.
DL CJ Okoye
Okoye will be a non-counted member of the practice squad as long as he makes it through waivers. A phenomenal story, Okoye made headlines for recording a sack in his first competitive football game, the preseason opener against the Rams. It appears the Chargers may have found something in the 21-year-old, and they’ll have a free chance to continue developing him.
EDGE Andrew Farmer
Farmer, an undrafted rookie from Division II Lane College in Tennessee, emerged as the sixth pass rusher in front of Ty Shelby and Brevin Allen. Adding him to the practice squad would allow him to continue bulking up into a more pro-ready body type. Farmer already showed solid run defense and flashes of pass-rushing talent in the preseason, so an entire season with NFL strength and conditioning could turn him into a legitimate rotational player.
EDGE Carlo Kemp
The Chargers typically only carry one pass rusher on the practice squad, aside from stretches last season where injuries necessitated a second addition. But it seems tragic to leave either Farmer or Kemp off the squad. Kemp, who spent the 2022 season on the practice squad, had the strongest preseason of the pass rushers not on the 53-man roster. Were the four rushers on the roster not locked in from the beginning of training camp, discourse about Kemp making the active roster would’ve been much louder.
LB Mikel Jones
Los Angeles almost always keeps one linebacker on the practice squad in case of injuries. Blake Lynch would be my pick for this spot, he was waived/injured with the injury he suffered against the Saints. Tae Crowder spent about a week on the roster after being signed to fill in for Lynch. Undrafted rookie Nathan East hardly practiced all camp with an undisclosed injury but was waived without the injury designation.
Jones had his strongest performance of the offseason in the Chargers’ preseason finale, fitting the run well and assisting Daiyan Henley with his first career interception. The undrafted rookie from Syracuse was a tackling machine in college, and having an experienced college starter with sure tackling ability in case the injury bug hits is good practice.
CB Cam Brown
Brown was waived a day early on Monday, but don’t expect that to affect whether or not he returns to the practice squad on Wednesday. Duggan and Kemp were also waived on Monday, and Telesco has already confirmed Duggan will be back as long as he clears waivers.
The undrafted rookie from Ohio State had a strong preseason on the outside but didn’t have as much of an impact on special teams. That’s the sort of nuance that typically separates making the team versus hanging around on the practice squad. Brown would provide decent depth on the outside in the case of an injury to Deane Leonard.
CB Tiawan Mullen
Mullen made a late push for a 53-man roster spot, but keeping him on the roster would’ve required the Chargers to keep six corners since Ja’Sir Taylor and Deane Leonard were locked in as special teamers at minimum. Still, it was hard not to notice the undrafted rookie from Indiana, who consistently fit the run violently from the slot and excelled in coverage.
Much like Brown providing depth if Leonard goes down, Mullen is the Chargers’ backup plan if Taylor is forced to miss any time as the backup slot corner. The brother of Ravens corner Trayvon Mullen also showed plenty of value on special teams this preseason.
S Mark Webb Jr.
It seemed like Webb had secured an active roster spot heading into Tuesday. Brandon Staley started the former seventh-round pick against the 49ers, calling it a good opportunity for Webb. I thought he played well, too, and so it was a surprise to see him waived in favor of undrafted rookie AJ Finley, who spent the entirety of training camp and the preseason behind him on the depth chart.
Webb missed the Saints game with an injury, which may have been enough for the Chargers to feel uneasy about relying on him even as a special teams-only player. Despite starting on most special teams units, Webb’s tenure with the Chargers has been plagued by injury. It’s what kept him off the initial roster last season as well. Still, LA believes in his talent, and I expect him to return.
