As we anxiously await the beginning of training camp on July 29, Los Angeles Chargers fans have ample reason for excitement.
Not only will we get our first real looks at the revamped offensive line, but the questions surrounding the position battles we've outlined and debated all offseason will start to be answered. Of course. the primary questions surround the battle— between Jake Slaughter, Trevor Penning, and Kayode Awosika— for the starting left guard spot.
But the rest of the roster will hold some intriguing competitions as well. The inside linebacker room, for example, desperately needs to establish its depth behind Daiyan Henley and Denzel Perryman, and there will be players like Marlowe Wax and Del'Shawn Phillips fighting for enhanced roles before the start of the regular season.
As 2024 third-round draft selection Junior Colson enters his third NFL season, this puts him in a precarious situation. Colson was unproductive in his rookie campaign, and he missed the entirety of his sophomore season with a shoulder injury.
This year's training camp will be Colson's first full chance to prove he belongs on the roster. But could it also be his last?
Junior Colson will soon need to prove he belongs on the Chargers defense
Coming into the league out of Michigan, Colson was a clear add for Jim Harbaugh in his first season with Los Angeles. He showed ample strength and poise at the college level, and he easily projected as a potentially versatile linebacker at the NFL level.
But he struggled to get on the field consistently during his rookie campaign, playing just 32% of the Chargers' defensive snaps across 11 games. His sophomore campaign was then ended before the season even began as he suffered a severe shoulder injury.
In the meantime, Troy Dye has established himself as a solid rotational linebacker behind Perryman and Henley. Although Phillips and Wax were primarily special teams weapons last season, both of those pieces have also shown upside as run stoppers on the defense. Wax, who made the roster as a UDFA last season, has a real chance to build on his promising 2025 campaign in training camp.
Of course, the Chargers invested relatively high draft capital in Colson just two offseasons ago, and they'll be hesitant to outright release him from the roster. But given their depth on the offensive line and in the secondary, it's very possible Los Angeles chooses to carry just five linebackers into 2026.
This puts Colson in direct opposition to Wax and Phillips as we enter training camp.
Colson, therefore, will need to prove that he can still present the versatility he did at Michigan, or he very well could be facing the end of his Chargers lifeline.
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