The Los Angeles Chargers made a number of tough calls on roster cut-down day, including leaving former third-overall pick Junior Colson of the final 53-man list.
As well as Colson played in the preseason, he was ultimately outperformed by former UDFA Marlowe Wax—who took on a 4% defensive snap share for last year's roster and showed major improvement over the course of training camp as a run-fitter and a tackler. It was likely the right decision, and it paid off when Colson made it through waivers to the practice squad.
With veteran linebacker Denzel Perryman placed on the IR to start the season, it seemed as though Wax might be destined for a large rotational role alongside Daiyan Henley. But the Chargers issued a bit of a surprise in Week 1 when career special-teamer Del'Shawn Phillips started the game as the Chargers' other inside linebacker. Troy Dye saw some snaps as well at the position.
But Wax was relegated to purely a special teams role, playing zero defensive snaps over the course of the game. If this is how new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary views the immediate hierarchy in the linebacker room, so be it.
But why leave Colson off the roster if Wax was simply going to be a special teams threat? This room has major uncertainty beyond this season, and the absence of Perryman provides an opportunity to give all three of Phillips, Dye, and Wax some reps.
Before Perryman returns and the depth chart is solidified, Los Angeles needs to give Wax a shot to prove himself.
The Chargers need to give Marlowe Wax a shot to crack the ILB rotation over the next couple of weeks
By the time the preseason came to an end, there was a case to be made for both Colson and Wax in terms of the initial 53-man roster. Although Colson was largely limited over his first two NFL seasons by various injuries (and missed all of last year recovering from shoulder surgery), he flashed an upside in coverage in the preseason that almost no linebacker on Los Angeles' roster outside of Henley truly possesses. His pick-six against the San Francisco 49ers was his highlight of the preseason, but he was consistent as well in his tackling and all-around play.
The decision to go with Wax was, presumably, a bet on immediate viability over long-term upside.
But to see Phillips taking on starting linebacker snaps in Week 1 is somewhat confusing in this light. Across his six full NFL seasons, Phillips has never taken more than 82 defensive snaps. He saw 41 in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
He was actually pretty active over the course of the game, posting one pressure and three combined tackles. But Dye put up essentially the same statline on a third of the snaps, and it's likely that Wax, with his intensity and consistency as a tackler, would've been able to do the same.
Eventually, Perryman will return to the rotation, and there's a chance that both Wax and Phillips are sent back to their traditional special teams roles. But here's the crux of things.
Perryman is back on a one-year deal, and this very well could be his final NFL season—or at least his last with the Chargers. Dye will also be a free agent next offseason, as will Henley (who seems almost certain to return). This room could be needing a shakeup as soon as 2027, and the absence of Perryman provides O'Leary and the Chargers with a chance to see what they truly have on the roster.
But if Wax doesn't get his shot to prove himself in an enhanced role with Perryman out, then he certainly won't get it when the veteran returns to the rotation.
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