Chargers news: Roderic Teamer suspended first 4 games of 2020

Second-year Chargers defensive back Roderic Teamer was hit with a four-game suspension, which won’t help his roster chances in 2020.

Los Angeles Chargers defensive back Roderic Teamer was going to have an uphill climb making the team’s 53-man roster out of training camp in 2020.

And whatever those chances were this offseason, they just got a lot more difficult.

According to a Monday afternoon report from The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, Roderic is being hit with a four-game suspension, which isn’t great news for the second-year pro:

Roderic Teamer has been suspended for the first four games of the 2020 regular season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Teamer can participate in all preseason practices and games. He is then eligible to return to the roster on Oct. 5. In a loaded secondary, Teamer was already going to have a tough time making the roster. Can’t imagine this helps his chances.

Teamer joined the Chargers as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane following the 2019 NFL Draft, appearing in seven games and starting six of them in the wake of strong safety Derwin James‘ foot fracture, which forced the All-Pro to miss the majority of last year.

During that stretch, Teamer managed to impress enough, recording 40 tackles, an interception, a sack and two passes broken up, which is commendable enough for an undrafted free agent starting off the year in a reserve/special teams role.

James is back healthy now, however, and will look to pair with 2019 rookie Nasir Adderley at the back end of Los Angeles’ defense. And as Popper pointed out, the Chargers secondary has plenty of depth, which only got deeper by the sixth-round 2020 draft addition of former Notre Dame defensive back Alohi Gilman.

Gilman, in fact, looks to be the primary beneficiary of Teamer’s eventual absence. And one could make the argument the Chargers have much more invested in the former than the latter, which won’t help Teamer’s roster chances heading towards Week 1.

There is a chance, however, L.A. keeps Teamer on a reserve/suspended list for the start of the 2020 season, allowing him to act as a quasi reserve, of sorts, in case one of the team’s higher-ranked safeties goes down with an injury. If he does stay, Teamer would be eligible to return for Los Angeles’ Week 5 road matchup against the New Orleans Saints.

That might be the best-case scenario for Teamer, as it didn’t look great anyway when considering his slim roster chances heading towards training camp.

Or, just as likely, the Chargers could merely cut bait with Teamer and move on.