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Chargers Sign Former Ravens Safety Tony Jefferson

By Admin / June 15, 2024

Highlights

  • Tony Jefferson ends retirement to join Chargers after impressing at tryouts.
  • Jefferson follows trend of former Ravens joining Chargers.
  • Jefferson is expected to compete for third safety spot behind Derwin James and Alohi Gilman.


The Los Angeles Chargers are adding yet another former Raven to their roster.

Per NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, free agent safety Tony Jefferson is coming out of retirement to sign with the Chargers.

Jefferson, 32, announced his retirement last season and worked for the Ravens as a scout in 2023. He started training for a comeback this spring and impressed the Chargers enough during a tryout to land a deal.

After going undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2013, Jefferson signed with the Cardinals. He played out the entirety of his rookie contract in Arizona before signing a four-year, $34 million deal with the Ravens. Jefferson last played for the Giants in 2022, appearing in nine games and logging 23 tackles.


Tony Jefferson Career Stats

Category

Jefferson

Game Played

113

Tackles

492

Forced Fumbles

8

Sacks

9.5

Interceptions

4

Passes Defensed

24

Atlanta Falcons EDGE Bud Dupree celebrating sack against New York Jets 2023

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Call Them The Los Angeles Ravens?

Jefferson is the latest of former Ravens to join the Chargers

New Los Angeles Chargers RB Gus Edwards
Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Players migrating from Baltimore to L.A. has been a theme this offseason, as Jefferson is the fifth former Raven to sign with the Chargers.


  • RB Gus Edwards
  • RB J.K. Dobbins
  • TE Hayden Hurst
  • C Bradley Bozeman
  • TE/FB Ben Mason

Longtime Ravens executive Joe Horitz is now the Chargers’ GM, while new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter served as the Ravens’ DBs coach during Jefferson’s time in Baltimore. Minter expressed his excitement about having Jefferson back in the mix following his tryout.

“Tony’s a guy I’ve known since 2017 and just a pro’s pro that is very knowledgeable of some of the things that we’re doing defensively,” Minter said. “I think he really wants to play. He’s got himself back into football shape over the last couple months, and so it’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out.”

There’s no guarantee that Jefferson will make the Chargers’ 53-man roster, as his spot on the team is far from guaranteed. This move feels more like a depth signing, but nevertheless, Jefferson does have a shot to take the field this season.

Jefferson will likely compete for the third safety spot behind entrenched starters Derwin James and Alohi Gilman. If he has a successful training camp, Jefferson could find himself playing meaningful snaps in 2024.


Derwin James is looking to have a bounce back of sorts, and will be moving around a lot in Minter’s new defensive scheme. James has a shot at lining up as a slot corner, or even an edge rusher in certain situations.

If Jefferson does land a roster spot after training camp, he’ll have opportunities to get some snaps with James moving around, which James alluded to, telling reporters: “That allows me to move around a little bit.”

We’ll see in training camp if Jefferson’s NFL comeback is successful.

Sources: Jordan Schultz

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference, unless otherwise noted.

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