CHARGERS: Bubble players on edge as roster cuts loom

Chargers will cut 27 players by Saturday

By MIKE SULLIVAN - Staff Writer | Monday, August 25, 2008 10:45 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- Brandyn Dombrowski was speaking about himself, but his thoughts represent those of more than two dozen other Chargers.

"It's definitely nerve-wracking right now," said Dombrowski, an undrafted free-agent guard. "Everybody, of course, wants to make the team, but it's not going to happen for everybody. So all I can do is play my hardest and have fun."

Monday's preseason game against Seattle at Qualcomm Stadium begins a frenzied week in which the Chargers play another game four days later and must trim 27 players from the roster by 3 p.m. on Saturday.

After playing the Seahawks, the Chargers will need to cut five players Tuesday to pare the roster to 75. Then, the day after Friday's preseason finale at San Francisco, 22 more players will be released to cut the roster to the mandatory 53-player limit.

So on a stacked team like the Chargers, numerous players are dissecting the roster, trying to assess their chances of making the squad. They're counting how many players are in camp at their position and guessing how many the Chargers will keep.

"You always do that," said Dombrowski, a former San Diego State player. "But in this league, you never know what they're going to do until it's actually done.

"It's in their hands. Like I said, I worked my hardest."

Chargers coach Norv Turner said the situation is challenging. Preparing for two games in such a short time span is tough enough, let alone making decisions that affect people's livelihoods immediately after each contest.

"We do have to make a cut Tuesday after the (Monday) game ---- fortunately, it's only five guys at this cut ---- and it gets tough," Turner said. "These are guys who have worked awfully hard, guys who have been in this organization, guys who have been around.

"The next cut is the real tough one, when we get to 53."

Rookie long shots and undrafted free agents can find many examples of players in the Chargers' locker room who overcame big odds to make an NFL roster.

Star players such as tight end Antonio Gates and guard Kris Dielman were undrafted free agents, as were inside linebacker Stephen Cooper, receiver/special teams ace Kassim Osgood and defensive end Jacques Cesaire.

Invariably, a long shot will approach one of those players and express their sentiments.

"They'll say, 'I want to be like you,' " said Cesaire, entering his sixth season with the Chargers. "I tell them that you have to just work hard. Don't sign a contract and think you've made it. You need to work that much harder to make the team."

Second-year linebacker Jyles Tucker found out just how hard it was to make the Chargers last preseason. Now on the verge of replacing injured star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman in the starting lineup, Tucker was released in the final roster cuts beforelast season.

He was re-signed to the practice squad and activated in late November when Carlos Polk suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. A month later, Tucker put on a stunning display by recording three sacks in a game against Oakland to earn AFC defensive player of the week honors.

"It was a challenge coming into it and understanding that, as a free agent, it's going to be very hard to make it anyway," Tucker recalled. "To come out here and try to make it as an outside linebacker knowing who's on the team and they were already set two-deep at pretty much every position, that made the challenge even harder than what it really was.

"You just had to know your role. I knew coming in here I wasn't going to be able to play defense. I had to be able to do special teams. That was for anybody that comes into the league."

Veteran linebacker Matt Wilhelm said he can see the apprehension of players on the bubble during late-August practices.

"They are hard-pressed and trying to do as much as they can and be as perfect as they can through practice and going extra hard," Wilhelm said, "whether it be special teams drills or whatever it may be. They want to make an impact and have it be in a positive light in the coaches' mind."

So while preseason affairs are mostly meaningless for established veterans, the two games this week might be the most meaningful games some Chargers will ever play.

"I'm just trying to find a spot, wherever that may be," undrafted free-agent receiver Gary Banks said. "I'm trying to slip on this team in some kind of way. Special teams or whatever it takes, I'm willing to do it to stick."

Chargers notes

Seattle P Ryan Plackemeier will play Monday night for the first time this preseason. The Fallbrook High alumnus is returning from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. ... Third-string QB Charlie Frye is scheduled to start for the Seahawks with Matt Hasselbeck sidelined with a back injury. Backup QB Seneca Wallace (groin) could be available to see some action. ... Chargers officials are urging fans to arrive early for Monday's 5 p.m. game to help ease traffic concerns in Mission Valley. The Padres also play Monday night (7:05 p.m. at Petco Park).

Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com.