Chargers release former 1st-round offensive lineman, star UFL quarterback
Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers are currently gearing up for the upcoming 2024 NLF season with the preseason action now in the rearview mirror. Harbuagh joined the Chargers in January after winning a national championship in college with Michigan, and expectations are high that the team will be able to bounce back from what was a dismal 2023-24 campaign a season ago.
Of course, this time of the year in the NFL generally marks a period where teams are engaging in roster cuts in order to get their squads down to the required maximum number of players before things get underway, and on Tuesday, the Chargers made two decisions in that regard.
First, the team made the decision to release backup quarterback Luis Perez, who was a champion in the XFL, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
Then, the Chargers raised some eyebrows by waiving former Las Vegas Raiders first round pick offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network on X.
The Perez move was particularly surprising given that the Chargers only have one other quarterback on the roster besides Justin Herbert–Easton Stick, who played substantial minutes for the team during the preseason this year.
Given the fact that Herbert missed significant time last year due to injury, it could be seen as a pretty hefty risk to only opt to keep one backup on the roster behind him.
Can the Chargers bounce back in 2024?
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
While the Jim Harbaugh signing understandably made lots of headlines and raised expectations for the franchise considerably, the Chargers don’t exactly have a juggernaut of a roster at the present moment, especially considering how difficult the AFC projects to be this upcoming season.
Justin Herbert remains one of the most purely talented quarterbacks in the league, although a wide receiver room that was already shaky arguably got even less talented this offseason with the loss of Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears.
The Chargers did attempt to shore up this deficiency by drafting former Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Ladd McConkey in the first round of the NFL Draft, but it’s generally not great when a team is relying on later round rookies to make immense impacts in a key area of the field.
In any case, the Chargers are set to get their season underway on September 8 at home against the Raiders. That game is slated to kick off at 4:05 PM ET.
The post Chargers release former 1st-round offensive lineman, star UFL quarterback appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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