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San Diego Chargers claim DL Joe Kruger from Eagles

The San Diego Chargers are in desperate need of defensive linemen, and they may have found themselves a good one on the waiver wire in Joe Kruger.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Chargers' front seven wasn't very talented or deep to begin with, and now it can accurately be described as "injury-ravaged".

Enter Joe Kruger. I don't know how he's done so far in the preseason with the Philadelphia Eagles, but this write-up from May suggests that he's a low risk-high reward type of addition to the Chargers roster. Here's a nice, short summary from BGN regarding why Kruger (the brother of talented Browns DE/OLB Paul Kruger) was cut:

Kruger was originally selected by the Eagles in the 7th round (No. 212 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Kruger spent his entire rookie season on the injured reserve list after struggling to make in impact last summer. Kruger spent the 2014 offseason working hard; he even gained 20 pounds while trying to bulk up. Unfortuantely for Kruger, however, he found himself caught in a numbers crunch. The Eagles already have a number of talented defensive ends. The emergence of 29-year old Brandon Bair and the acquisition of Taylor Hart in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft ending up hurting Kruger's roster chances.

Source

At 6'6", 290 lbs, Kruger is probably best-suited as a backup DE in John Pagano's defense, but it will be interesting to see if he gets any work in the team's 4-2 nickel front.

His brother Paul is an excellent player, and one that honed his craft by learning from Jarret Johnson when they both played for the Ravens. Joe is a bit taller, but will still likely benefit from tips the elder statesman can give him.