Teair Tart is becoming the bully Chargers need on defense

The Los Angeles Chargers needed a sort of bully presence on the defensive side of the ball.

Teair Tart is happy to provide.

Tart went globally infamous in Week 1 when he slapped Travis Kelce so hard the slow-mo cameras caught the spittle flying. The NFL fined him, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to the wrath of Taylor Swift fans.

Fast forward to Week 2, Tart was again getting violent with the opponent in borderline-legal ways.

The most notable instance of this was his leveling Raiders quarterback Geno Smith:

Chargers win. pic.twitter.com/WoBZVPa1pX
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) September 16, 2025

Every great defense seems to have one of these players. Fans know the type: The guy they hate to see their teams play against, but sure wouldn’t mind if their own team rostered him.

That’s Tart. Last year, it was Derwin James while Jesse Minter coordinated an elite defense. Maybe Khalil Mack a bit, too. But those are elite guys who mostly stay quiet while wrecking opponents.

Tart is just a tad dirtier in an eye-of-the-beholder sort of way. He’s also just a great success story after turning a prove-it deal last year into another contract this year. Now, he’s making the Chargers forget all about losing Poona Ford in free agency, one-upping his game and stepping into that enforcer role, giving the Chargers just a little more bite as they set sights on the top of the AFC.

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