The Los Angeles Chargers entered the offseason knowing they had a significant problem at wide receiver, but they seem to have addressed it, selecting Tre Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the NFL Draft and reuniting with Keenan Allen.
That has put some intriguing names on the roster bubble for the Chargers, including Brenden Rice, the son of Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.
More news: New 49ers WR Offers Strong Chiefs Comparison
Los Angeles selected Rice in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he played in just three games during his rookie campaign, failing to register a catch.
Now, Rice finds himself on the roster bubble heading into 2025, and Daniel Popper of The Athletic is expecting the team to part ways with the USC product.
In his 53-man roster projection for the Chargers, Popper predicts Los Angeles to keep six receivers, but Rice is not one of them. Ladd McConkey, Allen, Quentin Johnston, Harris, Lambert-Smith and Derius Davis all made the cut.
Rice actually has great size at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, but he simply does not have the burst nor the route-running ability of his father. Not that many receivers do, but Rice has yet to prove that he is even capable of earning legitimate playing time on the NFL level.
The 23-year-old actually began his collegiate career at Colorado in 2020 before transferring to USC in 2022. He caught 39 passes for 611 yards and four touchdowns during his debut campaign with the Trojans and then capped off his NCAA tenure by hauling in 45 receptions for 791 yards and 12 scores in 2023.
More news: Former Chicago Bears LB Takes Aim at Caleb Williams’ Wardrobe
Rice’s collegiate numbers were decent, but nothing truly extraordinary, and his rather pedestrian athletic ability has obviously made it difficult for him to actually get on the field for the Bolts.
If the Chargers do ultimately cut Rice, he could end up on the team’s practice squad, or perhaps another receiver-needy squad will scoop him up with the hope of catching lightning in a bottle.
For more on the Chargers and NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
The post Chargers Projected to Say Goodbye to Son of NFL Legend appeared first on Newsweek.
