Fox latest defensive player to reunite with coach Staley
The Chargers will have intriguing training camp battles on the defensive front this summer.
Morgan Fox became the latest defensive lineman to join the Chargers’ crowded group after signing with the team Wednesday. Fox, who played with the Carolina Panthers last season, is also the latest defensive player to reunite with Chargers coach Brandon Staley this offseason.
Fox spent his first five seasons in the NFL with the Rams, with his best statistical season coming in 2020 when Staley was the Rams’ defensive coordinator. Fox recorded a career-high six sacks and nine quarterback hits under Staley’s guidance. He signed a two-year, $8.1 million contract with the Panthers last year, but he was released by the team in March.
Fox, 27, could push for a rotational role on the Chargers’ interior defensive line as a versatile playmaker with pass-rushing skills. But he will be competing with Christian Covington, Jerry Tillery, rookie Otito Ogbonnia and a few other defensive linemen from last year’s roster. Fox, a 2016 undrafted free agent, has played in 69 career games with 15 starts.
Free-agent newcomers Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson are likely penciled in as two of the Chargers’ three starting interior defensive linemen. Tillery started last season, but he struggled against the run.
Covington will likely see many snaps as the Chargers view him as one of their top run stoppers. The fourth and fifth roles in the rotation could come down to Fox, Ogbonnia and Tillery, the former first-round pick who had his fifth-year option declined by the team earlier this month.
The Chargers have made it an emphasis this offseason to add defensive players who are familiar with Staley’s scheme. Fox, Joseph-Day and linebacker Troy Reeder were coached by Staley with the Rams. Edge rusher Khalil Mack (Bears) and cornerback Bryce Callahan (Bears, Broncos) were also previously coached by Staley.