After a flurry of moves on Tuesday, which included a surprising last-second trade with the Houston Texans to acquire offensive tackle Austin Deculus, the Los Angeles Chargers' initial 53-man roster has been finalized.
It's not that this initial version genuinely matters all that much—or at all, to be honest—as many more moves will be made between now and the Bolts' Week 1 matchup in Brazil with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nevertheless, it's out there. And while one could pinpoint several surprises among those who failed to make the cut (poor choice of words, I suppose), one of the most notable absences was easily veteran Tony Jefferson, who was not one of the five safeties kept, that list consisting of Derwin James Jr., Alohi Gilman, Elijah Molden, third-year pro Kendall Williamson, and sixth-round rookie R.J. Mickens.
Tony Jefferson fails to make the Chargers' 53-man roster
James, Gilman, and Molden obviously make sense, as this trio worked extremely well together a season ago. But Jefferson, who joined the Chargers ahead of last season after retiring for a year, had to be thinking he was in line for a slot.
Bouncing between the practice squad and the main roster in 2024, the Oklahoma alum ultimately appeared in just eight regular-season games, starting four, but performed quite well, earning a 74.8 overall PFF grade, ranking 23rd among 171 eligible safeties. And in the Chargers' embarrassing loss to the Houston Texans in the playoffs, he was one of the lone bright spots for the Bolts, making three total tackles and forcing a fumble en route to a 95.0 mark.
Re-signed by Los Angeles to a one-year, $1.38 million deal in early April, Jefferson had a solid training camp and a strong preseason, earning a 93.5 overall grade during the Chargers' four games. That was the second-highest mark of any defensive player on the team, trailing only rookie cornerback Eric Rogers (97.0), who appeared in only the first two games before missing the final two with an injury. Rogers did make the 53-man roster, by the way.
It should certainly be noted that Mickens had the third-highest grade at 90.7. Williamson, meanwhile, ranked 11th, but still came in at a very respectable 70.4. PFF grades obviously aren't the be-all-end-all, of course, but at the safety position, they certainly come in handy.
But one wouldn't expect an old-school coach like Jim Harbaugh to care too much about things like that. And he obviously doesn't and clearly likes what he has in Mickens and Williamson.
One has to wonder what the future holds for Jefferson, who'd become a bit of a fan favorite over the past year. He turns 34 in January, and if he doesn't latch on somewhere else, he could be a candidate for the Chargers' practice squad. But at this point in his career, he may not want to take that route and could easily slide back into retirement.