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In a way, the Chargers edge rusher room resembles a basketball superteam. As they always say, there’s only one ball, so someone will naturally have to take a backseat. In LA’s case, there are two (and sometimes three) spots on the field, but it’s a group that runs at least five deep.
Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack return after taking pay cuts to stay with Los Angeles this offseason, a hefty concession that will be rewarded with starting spots that both players have earned in spades. Second-year rusher Tuli Tuipulotu, who started for much of the season with Bosa and/or Mack injured, is also back and seemingly ready to take another step forward. The defensive scheme allowed all three players to get on the field at once in some packages, which should continue under Minter.
The Chargers also signed Bud Dupree this offseason, who is coming off a 6.5 sack season with Atlanta in 2023. Dupree is 31, but he showed last year that he still has some juice left, and slotting him in with the starting trio should allow both Bosa and Mack to manage their loads appropriately and avoid further injury.
On the outside looking in is fourth-year player Chris Rumph II, who played six games last season before going down with an injury of his own. Rumph has played 37 games for the Chargers over three seasons, a non-negligible amount of experience for a fifth edge rusher with an uphill climb to a roster spot. Second-year player Andrew Farmer II also saw game action last season and is probably a good candidate to make the practice squad.
How Minter handles this embarrassment of riches and balances their playing time will go a long way toward defining this Chargers defense, and that process begins with this first week of training camp.
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