3 Injured Reserve Candidates Chargers Could Stash To Save Room For Final Roster Cuts

With the NFL's cut down day just right around the corner, the Chargers may find themselves looking at alternate ways to stash extra players on their squad.

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The NFL is requiring all of its teams to cut down their roster to 53 before the deadline of Sunday, August 30, at 6:00 p.m. ET. With this influx of decisions needing to be made, some of the more creative ways of stashing players on your roster become less discussed.

Something we saw from the Los Angeles Chargers last season is the injury reserve (IR) stashing method, giving the team another season of a player while having them not taking up a roster spot. The caveat is that if they are placed on IR before cuts, that player is out for the entire season. This played out when the Bolts recently placed Tyler Biadasz on IR, ending his season.

If the team waits until after cuts, then places a player on IR, they can only "pause" that player's eligibility for the season for a minimum of four games, giving both the player and team flexibility for the upcoming season. The caveat with this method is that the player would have to make the initial 53-man roster, then go through the process. With the player making it initially, you are subject to another "cut" player going to waivers, risking said player being picked up by a different team.

Explanation aside, who are some targets for the Bolts' to place on IR for the upcoming NFL season to garner more roster flexibility?

IR Stash #1 - Kyle Kennard

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Kyle Kennard seems to be the most obvious candidate for IR, with him missing plenty of practice recently and precedent showing that the team is willing to have patience for draft picks, even if their play on the field does not warrant said patience.

Kennard struggled in year one in the NFL and is now going into year two with an injury and a lack of reported highlight moments in training camp and the preseason. The best move for both parties is to give Kennard a year to get healthy and get his mind and body right, in hopes of a year-three breakout.

IR Stash #2 - Dalevon Campbell

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Dalevon Campbell unfortunately suffered what looked to be a brutal lower-body injury during Week 3 of the 2026 NFL preseason, likely ending his season. Campbell has been a constant standout in the offseason, dating back to last season, giving him real opportunities to make a roster in the NFL, whether it was with the Chargers or another team like the Carolina Panthers (which he spent two weeks of last season with). Campbell could come back for year three healthy and make a final push for the Bolts roster going into 2027.

IR Stash #3 - Branson Taylor

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Branson Taylor has arguably been the breakout star of camp, going from someone I admittedly was very low on to a real candidate to start at the Chargers' left guard spot. His improvement over the offseason was unfortunately cut short when he suffered an upper-body injury in preseason, hampering his practice time heading into the final moments of the offseason before roster cuts.

The Bolts could very well keep him on the initial 53-man roster and then place him on IR to give him at least an extra month to heal. This would allow the team to open up another roster spot for players who find themselves on the bubble and fighting for a chance in the NFL.

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