Chargers sign recent XFL special teams standout Darrius Shepherd

The Chargers added another camp body to their squad today with the signing of Darrius Shepherd.

The Packers invited Shepherd to rookie minicamp in 2019, and he ended up working his way into a contract and held a spot on the active roster until October 14th, when he was waived and signed to the practice squad. He returned to Green Bay’s practice squad the following season before being promoted to the active roster on September 26th, 2020. He was again waived on December 1st, 2020. In these two seasons with Green Bay, he saw snaps in 14 games, catching six passes for 47 total yards.

Shepherd bounced around multiple practice squads in the following years, working with Kansas City, Arizona, Minnesota, Pittsburg, and Denver, but has yet to take NFL snaps since his sophomore campaign in Green Bay. He was drafted to USFL’s New Jersey Generals, where he was responsible for the second-most catches and third-most yards on the team. In 2022, he was drafted to XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, where he was runner-up in catches, yards, and touchdowns with a 48-519-6 line. His biggest contribution came on special teams, where he was awarded the XFL’s 2023 Special Teams Player of the Year.

Although there are rumblings that this could be a worrisome sign for Mike Williams’ recovery from injury, it’s hard to imagine the Chargers expecting Shephard to take a roster spot. At best, this looks like a practice squad addition that could act as special teams insurance should Derius Davis be forced to miss time at any point in the season.