The San Diego Chargers are heading into the 2014 season with hopes of making another playoff run. The process of doing that begins when they open training camp on July 24th. As with any team, there is a lot to pay attention to and a lot of roster spots to be determined. The Chargers also have a lot of starting spots to be determined in training camp and the preseason.
One of the biggest battles in the Chargers’ training camp is going to be at the cornerback position. They have ten corners coming into training camp but will most likely only have room for six after their final cuts are made. There are three cornerbacks that will almost certainly make the roster, barring any unforeseen injuries or extenuating circumstances, and those three are Brandon Flowers, rookie Jason Verrett, and Shareece Wright. After them it’s going to be a dogfight to see who makes it on the roster. The players who can bring the most to the table between coverage skills and special teams will get the final three spots.
Besides the actual cornerback battle, it will be interesting to see how Flowers does during training camp. He was extremely underwhelming during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs and after being cut by them feels as though he has something to prove. Seeing how he does in the Chargers’ system will be something to definitely keep an eye on.
Two other position battles to pay attention to are at right guard between Jeromey Clary and rookie Chris Watt and at nose tackle between Sean Lissemore, Kwame Geathers, and Ryan Carrethers. The two incumbants, Clary at guard and Lissemore at nose tackle, are looking to hold onto their starter status. This, however, will prove to be a daunting task. Behind both current starters is a lot youth, and in this league, the way the current CBA is set up, youth means a low salary cap number. If the talent difference is marginal but the cap difference is seismic, you can bet almost any General Manager will take the lower cap number and sacrifice a little talent.
Finally, the whole defense could be in flux pretty much. Their only starters that are absolutely locked in, according to defensive coordinator John Pagano, are safety Eric Weddle, middle linebacker Donald Butler, and defensive lineman Corey Liuget. This leaves eight starting spots up for grabs and nine starting spots if you include the nickel cornerback position. Having so many starting spots still undecided going into training camp is not common for a playoff team.
When the Chargers open up training camp on July 24th, there will be a lot of questions in need of answering. There will be some fierce competition and some surprises for sure. When training camp wraps up for the Chargers, the picture will be much more clear.