Six Cold Hard Facts on the 53-Man Roster
Monday, September 05, 2016 11:30 AM PDT
By Ricky Henne
Managing Editor
Chargers.com
@ChargersRHenne
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Six Cold Hard Facts on the 53-Man Roster
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FEATURED GALLERY
The 53 Take the Field
Here is a six-pack of facts about the Chargers 2016 53-man roster:
1. Youth is Served – The Bolts had one of the oldest rosters in the NFL last year, ranking 21st in the league. This year, San Diego boasts the ninth youngest team with an average age of 25.73. Joey Bosa and Hunter Henry are the two youngest Chargers as they are both only 21 years old. Meanwhile, there are 10 players age 30 and up (Antonio Gates – 36, Philip Rivers – 34, Kellen Clemens – 33, Brandon Mebane, Danny Woodhead – 31, King Dunlap, Brandon Flowers, Dwight Lowery, Matt Slauson, Mike Windt – 30).
2. Homegrown Talent – Only 20 players on the roster have ever spent time with a team other than the Chargers as 33 Bolts are homegrown talent. That number includes 23 draft picks including 19 made in the Tom Telesco/Mike McCoy era.
3. Undrafted Streak Lives On – For the 19th straight season an undrafted free agent has made the team as Spencer Pulley and Kenneth Farrow are currently on the 53-man roster. They join Antonio Gates, Jahleel Addae, Tyreek Burwell, Nick Dzubnar, Josh Lambo and Tyrell Williams as current players to make the 53-man squad their rookie year after going undrafted.
4. New in 2016 – The Chargers have 18 new players in the fold who did not spend any time with the Bolts in 2015. It includes nine rookies (Joey Bosa, Hunter Henry, Max Tuerk, Joshua Perry, Jatavis Brown, Drew Kaser, Derek Watt, Spencer Pulley and Kenneth Farrow) five veteran free agents (Travis Benjamin, Brandon Mebane, Dwight Lowery, Matt Slauson and Casey Hayward, three players added off waivers (Pierre Desir, Caraun Reid and Andre Williams) and one first year player (Dexter McCoil).
5. Practice Makes Perfect – The practice squad is a vital piece to an NFL roster. San Diego boasts six players who at some point spent time on their practice squads in previous seasons, including Isaiah Burse, Tyreek Burwell, Sean McGrath, Adrian Phillips, Kenny Wiggins and Tyrell Williams. Meanwhile, Danny Woodhead was a member of the New York Jets practice squad in 2009.
6. Depth By numbers – Including the roster exemption for Joey Bosa, here is the breakdown by position for the Bolts:
Offensive Line (10)
Defensive Line (7)
Wide Receiver (5)
Inside Linebacker (5)
Cornerback (5)
Safety (5)
Outside Linebacker (4)
Running Back (4)
Tight End (3)
Quarterback (2)
Fullback (1)
K (1)
P (1)
LS (1)
http://www.chargers.com/news/2016/09/05/six-cold-hard-facts-53-man-roster