Chargers surprisingly waive preseason standout amid flurry of roster moves

The LA Chargers made several roster moves ahead of the team's Monday Night Football showdown against the Baltimore Ravens. As far as additions go, the Chargers activated cornerback Deane Leonard from the IR and signed practice squad defensive back Eli Apple to the active roster.

In addition to Leonard and Apple, the Chargers are also elevating veteran safety Tony Jefferson and linebacker Caleb Murphy from the practice squad. Jefferson is the more notable of the two as a former player and scout for the Ravens.

The Chargers had to make room for these additions. One roster spot freed up with the team placing Hayden Hurst on the IR with a hip injury. To open the other roster spot, the Chargers waived preseason standout AJ Finley.

Chargers waiving AJ Finley is a surprise

Chargers fans are familiar with Finley after the strong preseason and training camp he put together earlier this year. Finley firmly won the third safety job on the depth chart with a strong showing that his coaching staff raved about.

Finley was so impressive in camp that he received first-team snaps with the defense. The second-year undrafted free agent went from being a special teams player to being someone who could genuinely impact the defensive side of the ball.

The first-team reps in training camp did not translate to the regular season, though. Finley played just 43 defensive snaps in the first 11 weeks of the season after the Chargers traded for Elijah Molden to usurp him on the depth chart. Still, Finley was a consistent presence on special teams, logging 61% of the team's snaps on that side of the ball.

Alas, Finley's special teams impact was not enough to keep him on the roster as the Chargers obviously think Apple can have a bigger impact. This is surprising considering Apple was a midseason addition who was fine in his three games with the Bolts, but was not anything special.

Typically, teams value youth in these roster crunches, which should have played in Finley's favor. But regardless of how good he looked back in the summer, the Chargers did not think he did enough to keep his roster spot 10 games into the 2024 season.

Finley can now be claimed by any of the other 31 teams. If he is claimed off waivers, Finley would go straight to the 53-man roster, not a practice squad.

If Finley clears waivers then he could re-sign with the Chargers practice squad.