The Los Angeles Chargers made a difficult decision yesterday. After former third-round pick Junior Colson missed most of his first two NFL seasons due to injury, the Chargers ultimately left him off the 53-man roster in favor of former UDFA Marlowe Wax.
Both players performed well enough during the preseason to make the final cut. But with Daiyan Henley and Denzel Perryman cemented as the starters in that room and Troy Dye and Del'Shawn Phillips solidified in their respective roles, there was only room for one to make the roster. Los Angeles went with Wax, and that was likely the right decision for the short-term strength of the defense.
But that doesn't mean that Colson doesn't still have major upside to be unlocked as a rangy, athletic off-ball linebacker. We got a glimpse of what he could do with his pick-six against the San Francisco 49ers, and a fully healthy season for Colson could lead to some major development.
As a player with less than three years of NFL experience, though, Colson is now subject to the waiver wire. All other teams will have until 10 AM PT on Monday, Aug. 31 to submit a claim on Colson, bringing him onto their 53-man roster and leaving Los Angeles without a chance to keep him on the practice squad.
Colson played under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, and it's likely that the Chargers would like to keep him in the fold if possible. They'll have their fingers crossed today as Colson goes through the waiver process.
The Chargers are at serious risk of losing Junior Colson on the waiver wire
Colson came into the league with major potential as a coverage-focused, off-ball linebacker. But he wasn't truly able to put it together through two seasons in Los Angeles.
He suffered a variety of ailments that limited him to just 11 games during his rookie season, and he suffered a shoulder injury that ended his sophomore campaign before it ever truly got going. The Chargers made do without him by giving an enhanced role to Troy Dye and granting Marlowe Wax a 53-man roster spot, and those two factors ultimately proved to be his undoing as the team put together its initial roster on Sunday.
Any team that wants to take on Colson would need to accept a certain degree of risk. As well as he played in the preseason, he hasn't had a truly healthy and productive stretch of NFL-caliber play to this point in his career.
But there may very well be a team looking to take a swing on a developmental piece like Colson. The Carolina Panthers may be looking for an upgrade to complement Devin Lloyd, and the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals could be on the market as well at the position.
The best-case scenario for Los Angeles here is that they're able to keep Colson on what Harbaugh calls the "opportunity squad" and allow him to keep developing in the team's defensive system. But by leaving him off the 53-man roster, they've effectively left his fate in the hands of the other 31 teams across the league.
We'll know how things unfold by this afternoon.
Add us as a preferred source on Google