Head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz are going to have a lot of tough decisions to make when the LA Chargers trim the roster to 53 players. There are many players on the roster bubble heading into the 2024 season and naturally, someone is going to get left out.
There is always one or two surprising cuts that take the fanbase by storm. It does not matter if someone is a veteran who has been with the team or is someone who was recently drafted, the Chargers are going to carry the best players to suit the roster.
Who those players will be is still up in the air as there are two more preseason games to play and plenty of training camp practices. That does not stop the myriad of Chargers roster predictions from trickling in, some of which are taking a bolder stance than others.
The Athletic's Daniel Popper recently published his latest 53-man roster prediction for the Chargers and there is one notable name on the cut list that fans did not expect: Kimani Vidal.
"Of course, it is a bit jarring to see a sixth-round pick left off the roster. But, as always, I am just basing this projection on what I am seeing," Popper wrote. "Spiller is on the first-team punt unit. He has familiarity with special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken. That flexibility ends up being hugely important for these bottom-of-the-roster decisions. Vidal has also been dealing with an injury and missed four full days of practice earlier this month, including the joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams. That injury likely influenced Vidal sitting out the preseason game."
The Chargers cutting Kimani Vidal truly would be shocking
It is not unprecedented for players to be cut shortly after they were drafted by their respective teams. After all, the Chargers drafted quarterback Max Duggan in the seventh round last year and he ended up getting cut from the 53-man roster (but stuck around on the practice squad).
That absolutely could be the case for Vidal if the Chargers are valuing special teams' impact over what the backend of the running back room can do offensively. With no NFL snaps to his name, Vidal is not a threat to be claimed by another team and can likely be stashed on the practice squad.
In that instance, the Chargers could keep him in the building and in the case of injury to either Gus Edwards and/or J.K. Dobbins, elevate him to the active roster to play a prominent role in the rushing attack.
Patterson has had a good camp and looked crisp in the preseason game but it remains to be seen if he can offer the same kind of two-way impact that Vidal can theoretically add in both the run game and the pass game. Vidal certainly has a higher offensive ceiling than Spiller, who has accomplished next to nothing in his NFL career and did not look great in the preseason opener.
While there is an avenue where this makes sense, it would still be risky to cut Vidal loose like this and that is why it would be a surprising move. Injuries have slowed Vidal down at camp, sure, but the Chargers do appear to be big fans of his when he is fully healthy. If they weren't, why would the team be so cautious about resting him in the preseason if he was healthy enough to warm up in gear?
Plus, while Spiller has been getting special teams snaps this summer it is not like he is a special teams guru. He has been held off the roster in the past because other backs in LA were better on special teams. To this point in his career, Spiller has never played a special teams snap in the regular season, per Pro Football Reference.
Do you know who has? Patterson, who could theoretically be that special teams running back who makes the roster along with Vidal, if the Chargers wanted to go that route instead.