The only remaining player on the LA Chargers roster who played in San Diego will be back for another season. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the [Chargers have agreed to terms on a one-year deal](https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2032221854245568702) to bring back veteran linebacker Denzel Perryman.
Drafted in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Chargers, Perryman has spent the last two seasons as part of a second stint with the team. He will return for a third season in which he will be a vocal leader of Chris O'Leary's defense.
Perryman's roots to San Diego aren't the biggest story of this signing, though. Instead, it's the impact he will have on third-year linebacker Junior Colson and how the Chargers likely view the former Michigan standout 24 months after they drafted him.
Chargers may have just shown their true feelings on Junior Colson
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The Chargers wouldn't feel a need to prioritize re-signing a 33-year-old linebacker if they were confident in the player who is theoretically supposed to replace him. On paper, Colson is supposed to be the guy who steps up and starts on defense, but that may not be the reality.
Yes, the Chargers needed linebacker depth but they theoretically could have gotten by with drafting that depth in the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft. But by re-signing Perryman, the Chargers are showing that any drafted linebacker will probably be to replace Colson, not to add depth behind him.
Colson has had a bad NFL career thus far. He was on and off the IR his rookie season and when he did play he played poorly. He did not look ready for the NFL even though he was playing for his college defensive coordinator and head coach.
There wasn't a leap in his second season. Colson failed to impress during training camp and preseason and didn't have a chance to prove himself any further than that. In late August, Colson had [shoulder surgery that ended his 2025 season](https://boltbeat.com/chargers-lb-junior-colson-out-for-the-year-before-second-season-even-starts-with-devastating-injury-01k3mcqf0cdf) before it started.
The Chargers are right to be cautious in trusting Colson to play a tangible role in his third season. He hasn't done anything in his career to this point to earn any trust other than being from Michigan. But by re-signing Perryman so soon, the Chargers aren't just showing a lack of trust, they are showing some potential discontent.
Los Angeles easily could have waited until after the NFL Draft to either re-sign Perryman or sign another depth linebacker. It's not like Perryman was going to have a huge market at 33 years old and there are other depth options out there.
But instead, the Chargers wanted to get ahead of it now and re-sign Perryman regardless of what happens in the NFL Draft. No matter what way you slice it, that is a bad look for the third-year linebacker.