Two surprise cuts for the Chargers

NFL teams don’t have to make any cuts until tomorrow afternoon, but a number of clubs are already getting a jump on things with over 24 hours left to go.

This season, the Chargers cuts look pretty straight-forward. Once you tab have your starters and key depth players out of the way, the rest of the cuts seem fairly easy. But as we’ve seen over the years, guys who seem entrenched at their spots may end up being on the wrong end of a call from coach.

With that in mind, I wanted to offer up two players on the Chargers who could be surprise cuts from the roster as they trim down to 53. While I don’t think either of them really will be released, these are the two players I think have easiest case to make.

LB Denzel Perryman

Anthony Lynn has a saying regarding Perryman: “When he’s well, he’s hell.”

What Coach is essentially saying here is that when the former second-round pick is healthy and able to play at 100%, he’s an extremely tough player to deal with. But there’s the rub. Perryman is not usually on the right side of the health spectrum. In his five seasons as a professional, he’s managed to record double-digit starts just twice and play in double-digit games just three times. In fact, he has yet to to stay healthy for a full season since being with the Bolts.

Perryman is a traditional two-down linebacker that is slowly being fazed out of the modern day NFL. He’s always been one of the shortest linebackers in the league and his coverage hasn’t ever been ideal for a defense that needs sideline-to-sideline ability.

The Chargers re-signed Perryman prior to last season to a new two-year deal with the hope that he finally kicked his injury woes. In a way, he did. He played in 14 total games in 2019, which ties his career-high that he set as a rookie. Now with some younger backers in the fold, including rookie Kenneth Murray, Perryman may actually last all 16 games in 2020 due to his snaps understandably getting scaled back.

The way I see it, if the new additions at linebacker and young guys show to be capable from the jump, maybe the Chargers decide to give Perryman a fresh start elsewhere. This is definitely a long shot due to the staff’s love of having a veteran mentor at each position, but we’ve seen teams part with better players for less.

OG Forrest Lamp

This hurts my heart to type out.

From being the once-prodigal son to save this offensive to being an afterthought in the pecking order, Lamp’s time with the Chargers has been largely forgettable. Three seasons in, Lamp has lost his entire rookie season, didn’t see a start in his second year, and wound-up hurt once more after earning his first two starts in the middle of the 2019 season.

Even after Dan Feeney’s continued lackuster play over the past two seasons at left guard, Lamp is still buried behind him on the depth chart. Yes, he’s one injury away to either guard spot from being a starter, but that’s not how we all thought this would go.

After all this time, something tells me that Lamp just isn’t what he used to be when he came out of Western Kentucky as an elite offensive line prospect. Two season-ending injuries can have that affect on somebody, understandably. But when I look to the future, I don’t know how this doesn’t pan out to be Lamp’s last season with the Chargers anyway. If he’s not a starter, there’s no point in keeping him when he could go earn more money and potentially start somewhere else. I simply can’t see him thinking sticking around here would be in his best interests.

If the coaches are also able to see that far ahead into the future, then I can see them wanting to do right by the young man and give him a fresh start elsewhere.