There's a lot of time until the LA Chargers have to cut the roster down to 53 players but fans already have a good idea on who will miss the cut. One such name that is seemingly destined to get the roster ax is former Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick Jalen Reagor.
The Chargers signed Reagor amid a flurry of wide receiver injuries last season and he actually received playing time due to his special teams impact (and the state the Chargers were in). In classic Reagor fashion, his first game with the Chargers included a fumble through the endzone that likely changed the outcome. The Chargers lost by two.
Many assumed the Chargers would wipe their hands clean with Reagor after the 2024 season and were shocked when the Chargers zagged instead. The Chargers re-signed Reagor in March so he could compete for a roster spot at wide receiver.
Fast forward to May, and it's hard to imagine Reagor making the Chargers roster at all.
Former Eagles' first-round pick Jalen Reagor likely won't make the Chargers roster
So what changed? For starters, the Chargers brought in three wide receivers since re-signing Reagor in March. The team re-signed Mike Williams before drafting Tre Harris in the second round and KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fifth round.
Despite being the "least consequential" of the three wide receivers brought in, Lambert-Smith actually has the biggest impact on Reagor. Lambert-Smith gives the Chargers another special teams option if Derius Davis is dealing with an injury. Suddenly, that added benefit of Reagor is gone.
As it stands right now, the Chargers have Ladd McConkey, Harris, Williams, Quentin Johnston, Davis and Lambert-Smith all ahead of Reagor. It's rare for a team to carry a seventh wideout on the roster, and even if the Chargers do, the team may favor 2024 seventh-round pick Brenden Rice.
Rice never got a chance to prove anything his rookie season after getting injured. Once viewed as a mid-round wide receiver option, Rice has more long-term upside than Reagor does at this point in his career.
Whether or not the Chargers keep Reagor on the practice squad if he is cut remains to be seen. If the Chargers don't, then it very well could be the end of the first-round pick's NFL career. The Chargers gave Reagor a life raft last season. If they're out on him, it may be the final straw.
That's unfortunate as Reagor had high expectations when the Eagles drafted him with the No. 21 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He simply never lived up to expectations, and unfortunately for Eagles fans, they'll always be reminded that Justin Jefferson was picked one selection later.