The Los Angeles Chargers' offseason program has come to an end.
Through OTAs and minicamp, both Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel made clear they weren't yet evaluating players for roster and position battles. With the changes that are coming schematically on both sides of the ball, this makes perfect sense.
We won't have a full picture, therefore, until the pads come on in late July. But based on what we know about the roster, here are three players who may still need to face the chopping block when training camp arrives.
3 Chargers who will be fighting for their roster spots in training camp
Junior Colson, LB
Colson, who was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Chargers, certainly has an inside path to making the roster in Los Angeles' relatively deep inside linebacker room. But that doesn't mean his spot is guaranteed.
Colson had a disappointing rookie season, appearing in just 11 games and playing 32% of the Chargers' defensive snaps. He amassed 29 combined tackles and one QB hit in that time. He then missed the entirety of his sophomore campaign with a shoulder injury, which later resulted in a neck issue that required spinal surgery.
Los Angeles' top trio of inside linebackers— Denzel Perryman, Daiyan Henley, and Troy Dye— is already set. Both Marlowe Wax and and Del'Shawn Phillips will be fighting for upgraded roles, and UDFA Lander Barton also has the talent to be in the thick of this competition come training camp. There's certainly a world where Colson is the odd man out.
Alex Harkey, OG
Again, it might seem unlikely that the Chargers would release someone they spent recent draft capital on. But Harkey was far from the only lineman selected by Los Angeles in this year's Draft.
The Chargers spent four of their eight selections on offensive linemen, adding guard/center Jake Slaughter in the second round, offensive tackle Travis Burke in the fourth, and guards Harkey and Logan Taylor in the sixth.
Los Angeles currently has 14 offensive linemen on the roster, and there are likely only nine or 10 roster spots to be distributed among them. Kayode Awosika, Slaughter, and Trevor Penning have the inside track for the competition at left guard, leaving Harkey and Taylor, at best, as third-string linemen heading into 2026. Taylor has more extensive experience at the guard position and a clearer grasp on the fundamentals based on his college film, meaning that Harkey could be left lower on the totem pole than he might have wished coming out of the Draft.
Derius Davis, PR/KR
When the Chargers added Keaton Mitchell in free agency and Brenen Thompson in the Draft, the stage seemed to be set for Davis to be usurped as Los Angeles' return man. Although Davis was an All-Pro in his first season with the team, he was severely hampered by injuries in 2025. His production fell, and the Chargers finished 29th in yards per punt return and 26th in yards per kick return.
So far, there hasn't been a clear leader in the competition for that role. A slew of players, including Davis, took reps at kick returner during the offseason program.
Davis will get his fair shot to keep his role in 2026. But the Chargers have so many bodies, and special teams contributors are so easily replaced, that nothing is guaranteed for Davis heading into training camp.
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