Chargers LB Junior Colson had his 2025 season ended before it started. By placing him on the reserve/injured list, he is now officially out for the season. The Chargers opted to carry four linebackers on their initial 53-man roster: Daiyan Henley, Troy Dye, Marlowe Wax and Denzel Perryman.
Colson suffered an undisclosed injury in the Hall of Fame Game that caused him to miss the teams' second game against the Saints. He played in the Chargers' third preseason game against the Rams, but then missed practice the following week leading up to the preseason finale vs. San Francisco.
Could Chargers LB Junior Colson have reaggravated an earlier camp injury? We don't know.
HC Jim Harbaugh confirmed in his Thursday press conference last week that Colson was indeed "working through something". When asked by Daniel Popper of The Athletic if he had reaggravated his injury from earlier in the preseason, Harbaugh replied: ""Mmm. Don't know the answer to that." Colson missed the game vs. the 49ers. He was not seen by beat reporters on the practice field last week.
Colson struggled during the Hall of Fame Game, but gave an overall better effort in his second preseason contest. Still, his progress in year two during the offseason period was not where the Chargers needed it to be. He struggled to stay ahead of Troy Dye and other rotational Chargers linebackers on the depth chart. The expectation when he was drafted was almost certainly that he'd have been able to crack the starting group by now.
The Chargers used a third-round selection on Colson in the 2024 draft. Unfortunately, we'll need to wait another year to see if the former Michigan National Champion can provide value on his rookie deal for LA.
Henley and Perryman will once again be LA's top duo. Dye and Wax will rotate in and likely be heavily involved in the teams' special teams operations. The Chargers decided to cut Del'Shawn Phillips. It's worth noting that former Ryan Ficken special teams LB Nick Niemann was released by the Texans today while the Chargers ended up only carrying four linebackers on their revealed initial roster.
While Colson looks to work his way back into the equation in 2026, the rest of the group will have to make the best of the situation.