James' contract extension `hold-in' now at eight days
The air horn cut through the early-morning buzz of Day 8 of the Chargers' training camp at Jack Hammett Sports Complex, signaling the start to their workday. It was 8:45 a.m. Friday, time to begin a 15-minute walk-through before a period of stretching followed by the start of practice.
All-Pro safety Derwin James Jr. took his position in the Chargers' secondary, as he has for each of the past seven days of practice. He wore his No. 3 light blue jersey with a white long-sleeved T-shirt underneath. Like everyone else in the walkthrough, he was helmet-less.
When the air horn sounded again at 9 a.m., he walked to the sideline while his teammates took their customary spots on the field and began to stretch and then participate in 7-on-7, 11-on-11 and special teams drills. James remained there, watching, cheering and coaching.
It's been that way since Day 1, while James awaits a contract extension. The days have slipped by during his “hold-in” and the question had to be asked Friday: Wouldn't the Chargers be better off with James on the field and participating so they could see what their defense would look like for their Sept. 11 opener?
Renaldo Hill, the Chargers' defensive coordinator, referred to James as “the Alpha guy,” so wouldn't it make sense for James to be with his teammates, many of whom are new to the team? After all, the 90-player training camp roster features 18 new names on defense since the end of last season.
“He's getting all the walkthrough parts of it, so mentally, he's locked into the game,” Hill said. “We know what he can do physically. It'll work itself out when it's time. In the meantime, he's doing everything he can do to stay involved and we're trying to indulge him and make sure he's part of the walkthroughs.
“He's still the Alpha guy when he steps out here. You know the point is coming when he's going to get out on the field. I feel like he's always near me, so he's part of it all.”
Cornerback J.C. Jackson is one of the 18 newcomers on defense, having signed with the Chargers as a free agent during the offseason after four years with the New England Patriots, including his first Pro Bowl selection last season. He would like to see James on the field sooner than later.
“Derwin is a great football player,” Jackson said. “We've known each other since we were kids (growing up in Florida). I can't wait to get him out here on the field. I know he's dealing with other things. I can't control that, but I can't wait to get him out here. It's going to be very fun.”
Camp competition
Jackson made a highlight reel-caliber interception near the end of the 11-on11 portion of practice, snaring a pass from quarterback Easton Stick that glanced off the hands of a diving wide receiver Trevon Bradford. The offense was in a hurryup mode when Stick tried to connect with Bradford.
“That's team defense,”
Jackson said, eagerly giving the credit away.
Jackson had 25 interceptions in 62 regular-season games while with the Patriots, including eight in 2021 and a career-high nine in 2020. He also had 58 tackles last season and forced one fumble. There have been adjustments to make since joining the Chargers, but nothing too stressful.
“I'm getting the hang of it,” he said. “Switching to a new team, you've got to adjust, you've got to learn. It's a process. I'm coming out here each and every day getting to know my teammates, my coaches and having fun competing. Football is all about having fun. Just play ball.”
Certainly, playing with outside linebackers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, two Pro Bowl selections, could prove to be a lot of fun for Jackson.
“I never played with passrushers like that,” he said. “We're going to see what that's like this year. I'm so excited to play with those guys. I'm ready. I'm very excited. I believe I can (force) more turnovers with those two guys going at the quarterback, so that should be fun.”
Bosa and Mack (part 2)
The Chargers gave Bosa and Mack an extra day of rest Friday after Thursday's scheduled day off for the team.
“We have a big ramp-up with the pads coming on, so we wanted to make sure that those guys are ready to go for those practices coming up (including a scrimmage Sunday),” Hill said. “They were ready to go, but it's a good chance for us to get out here and evaluate some of the other guys.”
Terrell Lewis welcomed Bobby Wagner to the Rams by constantly praising him for his past accomplishments with the Seattle Seahawks. It was probably flattering at first for Wagner to hear Lewis say that he grew up watching him, but then it got old and that's the last thing an 11-year veteran looking for a fresh start wants – to feel old.
Lewis noticed the slight irritation from Wagner and decided to have fun with it. He pestered Wagner like a diehard “Star Wars” fan would if they got to spend a weekend with Mark Hamill.
Lewis routinely shouted “L.O.B” in Wagner's direction — the acronym for Legion of Boom and the moniker of the Seahawks' dominant defense of the 2010s with Wagner running the show at middle linebacker.
“I used to tease him when he first got here to the point where he's like, `Bro, chill out with that,'” said Lewis, the third-year outside linebacker. “I used to say `L.O.B.' and he would be like, `Man, chill out. That's old, that's old.'”
Lewis, the Rams' 2020 third-round pick, eventually dropped the act because he needed help from the future Hall of Famer. He's also looking for a fresh start and Wagner provided guidance for ways he can take care of his body.
The 6-foot-5, 262-pound Lewis has the skill set to have his own productive career, but he's struggled to stay on the field because of knee injuries. Last summer, Lewis missed camp practices because of the knee, leading to another slow start. But the toughest setback for Lewis was being a healthy scratch for the Rams' entire Super Bowl run.
The Rams hit pause on Lewis' development after they acquired star outside linebacker Von Miller in the middle of the season. But with Miller now in Buffalo, Lewis has an opportunity to establish himself as one of the Rams' top pass rushers.
“It was frustrating,” Lewis said about being inactive
Outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was the Rams' thirdround pick in the 2020 NFL draft out of Alabama.
for the final nine games of 2021. “I feel like I learned a lot from that whole situation. I feel like that's another reason why I feel like I have that kind of chip on my shoulder every day. Obviously with me, my biggest goal lately has just been I want to play in a Super Bowl. So that kind of bothered me a lot.
“Mentally it took me a while to get over it and say, `Okay, what can you learn from that? What can you gain from the experience of not only just learning from a player like Von, but also learning just the business and how things go about throughout a season.' Sometimes you may just have to be that odd man out depending on situations, but it definitely felt weird. I've never been out of a game other than health. It just felt like, now that I'm healthy, why the hell am I not playing? Once I got over that hump of you can put all the work in that you want to, it's not always going to go your way. But you can always gain something from those situations.”
Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd has noticed Lewis applying what he learned from last season and it helps that he's trusting his knee more with each practice.
“I'd probably say he's been taking care of his body the whole offseason,” Floyd said. “I could tell when he's pass rushing, he's lean, he's dipping and he's real fluid right now. … I could tell he's trusting (the knee) a lot more than he did last year. He's executing some of his best rushes in training camp.”
Lewis has had a productive training camp,