Chargers Camp — Sep 3: Scott Back, Perryman Out Four Games

The punter the roster did not have on Sunday has been on it since Monday. The Chargers signed JK Scott on August 31, per the team — 68 games here over four seasons, a 46.1 average, a hundred nine punts inside the 20 — a day after releasing him, and the corresponding move was linebacker Denzel Perryman, hurt, to injured reserve. Jim Harbaugh on Scott, per Eric Smith at the team's site: "He was always on the 53. That was a roster machination. He's our guy," and "Top 10 punter, we feel." Joe Hortiz on the preseason that prompted the release: "I'm not going to knock a guy on one game." Our last episode said the release was reported as procedural and that nothing is signed until it is. It is. On Perryman, 33, five inside linebackers on the initial roster and now four, Harbaugh: "I know it will be a minimum of four games. I don't know if it will take that long. Close to it, it depends on the rehab and things." The injury has not been disclosed, and no source this week names it. Thomas Martinez at Chargers On SI calls the absence a chance for Marlowe Wax, the undrafted linebacker who wore the green dot and relayed Chris O'Leary's calls through the preseason — the man who beat out Junior Colson for the last inside linebacker spot, as our last episode reported. Harbaugh's read on the room: "I feel like we're really good there," with "Del'Shawn has been really super ascending."

The practice squad was a second roster by Monday afternoon and over the limit by Wednesday. 16 of the 30 players cut Sunday were back on it a day later, per the team — all 16 cleared waivers unclaimed, including the three we told you were waived. On offense that is quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, running backs Gregory Desrosiers and Amar Johnson, receivers Gary Jennings and Devonte Ross, tight end Evan Svoboda, center Josh Kaltenberger and tackle Laekin Vakalahi. On defense, linebackers Junior Colson and Lander Barton, outside linebackers Andre Carter and Nadame Tucker, defensive linemen Jahmeer Carter and Terry Webb, and cornerbacks Nikko Reed and Isas Waxter. Then from outside: cornerback Kaiir Elam, the former first-round pick, off Kansas City's camp, per Ricardo Sandoval at Chargers Wire; tight end Patrick Herbert, Justin's brother, out of Oregon by way of Jacksonville, who had several practice-squad offers and chose this one, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network; defensive tackle Jordan Jefferson, on his fourth organization; receiver Theo Wease Jr., waived by Miami, most of last year on the Dolphins' practice squad under McDaniel with a 63-yard touchdown in his one game; and outside linebacker Caleb Murphy, released by the Giants, a Charger in 2024, reported Thursday. To make room the team released Jahmeer Carter, Ross and Waxter, three of the 16 it had just signed, per Sandoval, and as of Wednesday it was still sorting, with more players signed than the squad can carry.

Two trades our last episode carried are now both pending physicals, per the team's own release, not just the Avery Smith one: Smith to Seattle for a 2027 sixth, TeRah Edwards to Carolina for a 2028 sixth, both undrafted free agents the team had signed itself — Smith out of the April class, Edwards off last year's practice squad — flipped for picks. Hortiz: "It's identifying good players and getting them after the draft, certainly." And: "I'd say it shows the organization's ability to locate guys, find guys, and then once they get out here, develop them." Nate Gosney at Chargers On SI cannot remember the Chargers doing it before.

The left guard job we told you was Awosika's is open again. Harbaugh, per Smith: "I'm not so sure nothing precludes us from playing them both. That's a possibility, too." And on how that would work: "Maybe play freshest guy, hottest hand. The old platooning guards," with Trey Pipkins III still the other name, the pair that split reps all camp. Hortiz on the 11 linemen: "There's a reason we kept them." And on why: "You got a guy that's a good offensive lineman and it's hard to find offensive linemen." On the rookie center: "He's taking it and running with it. He's so smart and talented player." Undrafted center Jacob Spomer, the backup behind Slaughter, allowed no pressures and no sacks on 78 pass-protection snaps, a Pro Football Focus figure reported by Jackson Loschko at Gridiron Heroics. On Rashawn Slater: "He looked good last week in practice." And on the swing tackles, where Harbaugh says Travis Burke keeps ascending every day: "Trey Pipkins would be a great swing tackle. I think Travis Burke could be a great swing tackle."

The backfield is the thing to watch. Keaton Mitchell, whom our last episode said stayed on the roster despite a mild setback, has missed five straight practices through Tuesday, working with trainers on the side, per Nic Jennings at Roundtable Sports. Hortiz's answer to whether that means something, per Sandoval: "We could put him down on IR today like we did with Denzel and we did not do that. So if that kind of answers your question." McDaniel on why they want him: "He's a matchup issue for every defense. I think he has a lot of pass-game value that he hasn't been able to really represent in his career, but it's showing so far in camp."

The reserve list, per the team's release: Perryman added Monday; fullback and defensive lineman Scott Matlock and lineman Branson Taylor on injured reserve with return designations; rookie tackle Isaiah World on the non-football injury list; receivers Sincere Brown and Dalevon Campbell and outside linebacker Kyle Kennard waived injured Sunday and reverted. The Sunday count we gave you — 28 waived — matches the release exactly. 10 captains were named Tuesday: Joe Alt, Justin Herbert, Ladd McConkey and Rashawn Slater on offense; Henley, James, Mack, Molden and Tuipulotu on defense; Josh Harris on special teams. Harbaugh on the 53: "I'm fired up. We've got us a ball team." Hortiz: "Build, build, build and you raise the floor. The depth, you see it."

Back in July we previewed this team as Justin Herbert's environment finally built — both tackles healthy, the interior of the line intact, McDaniel imported to cut the time between snap and decision. Last season: 11 six, the seventh seed, an offense 20-fifth in expected points added per play — the measure of how much each snap moved the expected score — and 20-sixth throwing it, under a defense seventh in that same measure, with 45 sacks. Cut day spent roster spots on the hole a season-ending knee injury opened at center. This week signed the punter back, reopened the left guard, and kept a running back on the 53 by saying out loud that injured reserve was available and not used. The line is still proven at the edges and brand-new in the middle. The grading starts against Arizona, and the middle still has two names for one job.

Next is the Cardinals, Sunday, September 13, at SoFi Stadium. What to watch: whether Mitchell practices in game week, and who is at left guard on the first snap. The Recap follows the game.

_Data via nflverse._