In a season that's been a complete disaster for the Los Angeles Chargers, it's been relatively easy to lose sight of the storylines, especially those on the margins, that many thought would define the roster in 2026.
The battle for the second safety spot alongside Elijah Molden has certainly been one of those forgotten narratives—and Tony Jefferson has steadily claimed that role as the attention has been drawn to the flailing Los Angeles offense. The inside linebacker room, though, presents an equally intriguing scenario.
Both Denzel Perryman and Daiyan Henley were slated to begin the season as the starters in that room, while Troy Dye and Marlowe Wax seemed set to compete for snaps at the third linebacker spot. Wax's high-level play in preseason and Dye's veteran experience made that seem like it was shaping up to be an interesting, if minor, competition for the Chargers in 2026.
But Perryman was surprisingly placed on the injured reserve prior to the start of the season with an undisclosed issue, and that gave O'Leary a chance get a closer look at the Chargers' other positional options—including, apparently, career special teams contributor Del'Shawn Phillips.
Now, with no return in sight for Perryman even with the Chargers rounding into their bye week, those lifelines—especially to Phillips and Dye—seem to have been extended even further.
Denzel Perryman's absence gives Chris O'Leary more time to cement his positional depth at ILB
When Perryman was first placed on the injured reserve, Harbaugh said that his return was likely slated somewhere close to the four-week minimum. But through six weeks of the season, there's been no update on Perryman's status. And the veteran wasn't included in the list of players Harbaugh slated for imminent return as Los Angeles entered its bye.
We don't know what the issue is with Perryman, but the good news is that the rest of the inside linebackers have largely held their own in his absence.
Prior to the matchup against the elite rushing offense of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chargers had managed to place themselves near the middle of the pack in terms of rushing defenses, and they were also able to put up some of impressive performances against a pair of explosive backs in Jeremiyah Love and Ashton Jeanty. Henley has been solid as always in that regard, although he's been highly inconsistent in pass coverage this season.
But Phillips, who's played 66% of the team's defensive snaps, has been the real surprising factor here. He's missed some tackles here and there, but he's been a consistent presence getting downhill in the run game. And O'Leary has even found a way to factor him into the pass rush where Henley would normally get the bulk of the opportunities. Phillips has posted five pressures through six games this season, matching his career total across his five previous campaigns.
Prior to this season, Phillips' career-high defensive snap share was just 14%, which he achieved in 2021 with the New York Jets.
Dye, meanwhile, has seen some snaps on the outside as a pass rusher, but he's been relatively limited in his opportunities since Phillips' emergence. He's played just 16% of the Chargers' defensive snaps this season—a far cry from the 49% mark he saw last season across 16 games. Wax, for his part, has seen just 11 snaps with the defense to this point in the campaign.
It's hard to imagine that Perryman won't slide back into some sort of starting role when he returns, leaving Phillips as the third linebacker and perhaps edging Dye out of the fold even further. But as long as Perryman remains on the sidelines, these two contributors have a chance to grapple for position and ingrain themselves within O'Leary's scheme.
It's not necessarily how we saw the room unfolding when the season began, but it's been relatively effective so far.
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