EL SEGUNDO — In the end, Simi Fehoko and Brenden Rice both made the Chargers’ 53-man roster Tuesday, two of seven wide receivers who survived the NFL-mandated cutdown from the training camp lineup of 90-plus players. Wide receivers Cornelius Johnson and Jaylen Johnson didn’t make the cut.
Easton Stick earned the backup quarterback’s job despite a disjointed performance during camp and exhibition games while Justin Herbert was sidelined for nearly three weeks by a right foot injury. Luis Perez, who was brought in to push Stick to better play, didn’t make the 53-man roster.
Running back Jaret Patterson, whose rising play during camp and during exhibition play, won him a spot as a backup behind veterans Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. Isaiah Spiller, a fourth-round draft pick from Texas A&M in 2022, didn’t survive the cuts as the Chargers kept only four backs.
Tony Jefferson, a veteran safety who returned to active duty after spending last season as a scout, made the team after a monster game in which he had a team-leading 14 tackles, including a sack, plus two interceptions and one forced fumble Saturday against the Dallas Cowboys.
And so it went.
There were some surprises, but not many.
Even the Chargers’ decision to keep seven wide receivers seemed like a foregone conclusion as camp progressed and Rice and Fehoko impressed the coaching staff. They will join Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston, DJ Chark Jr., Ladd McConkey, Derius Davis as targets for Herbert.
“Did they impress us? Yes,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said of the seven receivers to make the cut. “I knew. As we went along I actually looked at that as a likely number. Did I know? Did I know? Did I know? That’s an area where no man knows the future. No man knows the future.”
Will they be the final seven to close out the season?
Maybe?
The roster might change several times over the course of the season, and that’s where the importance of the practice squad comes into play. The Chargers and the league’s other 31 teams can begin building their 17-man practice squads starting Wednesday morning.
“It’s the beginning and then we’ll grow back (Wednesday),” Harbaugh said of the cuts. “This roster isn’t 53 anymore. It was the last time I was in the league (as coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014 before moving on to coach the past nine years at the University of Michigan). It’s much higher (now). In the 70s.”
Players who aren’t claimed by other teams can’t get a second crack at making the 53-man roster later in the season if there are injuries or lackluster play. So, someone like Spiller can be added to the practice squad and then get elevated to the game-day roster as the season progresses.
The same goes for players like Perez or outside linebacker Andrew Farmer II or defensive lineman Christopher Hinton or outside linebacker Tre’Mon Morris-Brash, each of whom had moments of excellence during camp. Or any number of players who could prove to be valuable as the weeks fly by.
“It’s a couple ‘X’ times more important and in a lot of ways,” Harbaugh said of the practice squad. “Over the course of the season, they’ve got to stay frosty. They’ve got to be ready. It’s really important that those players are game-ready. You need them game-ready-to-go. You want them ready before you need them ready.
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“The other thing that’s important for the players is that it keeps them improving, it keeps them getting better. I think before the changes in the rules, a guy could really level off. ‘I’m parked here. This is where I’m at. Get ‘em next year.’ Human nature takes over and you don’t have that urgency to get as good at football as you possibly can. There’s much more incentive right now.”
In addition to the Chargers’ roster cuts, four players were placed on injured reserve: Outside linebackers Chris Collins and Chris Rumph II and offensive linemen Bucky Williams and Tyler McLellan. Linebacker Nick Niemann was placed on injured reserve, but he was designated for return.
Outside linebacker Joey Bosa was not placed on IR despite sitting out of practice since suffering an apparent hand injury during the Chargers’ joint practice Aug. 4 with the Rams. Bosa worked out Tuesday on the sideline during individual drills during the portion of practice open to reporters.
Chargers roster cuts
OL Karsen Barnhart (Michigan)
TE Luke Benson (Georgia Tech)
DL Jerrod Clark (Coastal Carolina)
S Akeem Dent (Florida State)
RB Elijah Dotson (Northern Colorado)
OLB Andrew Farmer II (Tennessee)
TE Tucker Fisk (Stanford)
WR Jaelen Gill (Fresno State)
LB Frank Ginda (San Jose State)
CB Matt Hankins (Iowa)
S Thomas Harper (Notre Dame)
TE Zach Heins (South Dakota State)
DL Christopher Hinton (Michigan)
OLB Savion Jackson (North Carolina State)
LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (Mississippi)
WR Cornelius Johnson (Michigan)
WR Jaylen Johnson (East Carolina)
CB Robert Kennedy (North Carolina State)
C Brent Laing (Minnesota Duluth)
OL Alex Leatherwood (Alabama)
LB Shane Lee (USC)
OLB Tre’Mon Morris-Brash (Central Florida)
DL CJ Okoye (Nigeria)
TE Donald Parham Jr. (Stetson)
OL Willis Patrick (TCU)
QB Luis Perez (Texas A&M-Commerce)
S Jalyn Phillips (Clemson)
LB Shaq Quarterman (Miami)
TE Isaac Rex (BYU)
OLB Ty Shelby (Louisiana-Monroe)
RB Isaiah Spiller (Texas A&M)
CB Zamari Walton (Mississippi)
WR Isaiah Wooden (Southern Utah)
