It was not easy but the LA Chargers cut the roster down to 53 players ahead of Tuesday's deadline and have since filled out the practice squad. As it stands right now, the Chargers have two practice squad spots remaining and that is before the team signs Zander Horvath, which seems like a guarantee.
While the practice squad players did not make the 53-man roster they can still play a very important role for the Chargers. There are naturally going to be injuries and other situations that prompt the team to pick from the practice squad to help the active roster.
In theory, every player on the practice squad is a candidate to play if the position they are in gets thinner on the active roster. However, there are certain members of the practice squad, in particular, who have a good chance of being difference-makers.
3 Chargers practice squad players with the best chance of earning a roster spot:
1. TE Nick Vannett
Nick Vannett has bounced around the NFL in recent years and he was waived by the Houston Texans as part of their roster cutdowns. Houston did not decide to use a practice squad slot on Vannett, who instead signed with the LA Chargers.
Vannett is not an exciting tight end for the casual fan as he is not going to go out there and be a lethal passing weapon for Justin Herbert. What Vannett is good at, though, is exactly what the Chargers need: blocking.
The blocking in the tight end room leaves a lot to be desired and there is a case to be made that Vannett would be the best blocking tight end on the roster. He certainly has shown consistency in being able to block at a serviceable level.
As soon as Tre' McKitty or Stone Smartt slip up Vannett is going to get a chance to come in and serve as a blocking tight end. If someone gets hurt, Vannett may get the call and end up playing more than the other backup tight ends on the roster.