The Chargers continue to make dramatic changes in the final days of the 2023 season.
One week after firing coach Brandon Staley, general manager Tom Telesco and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, the team waived veteran defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day on Friday.
Joseph-Day was a team captain who started 30 games for the Chargers after leaving the Rams to sign a three-year, $24 million contract as a free agent during the offseason of 2022. He also was a locker room leader who had won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams in the 2021 season.
It could be the first of many roster adjustments in the coming weeks and months with the Chargers facing significant salary-cap issues for the 2024 season. They are projected to be roughly $35 million over the cap for next season. Joseph-Day had a $10 million cap hit for next season.
By cutting him before June 1, the Chargers would save $7.5 million in cap space for ’24, however.
The move also means Joseph-Day could sign with a playoff-bound team for the remainder of the season. The Chargers are mathematically alive for the AFC playoffs, but realistically they were eliminated from contention with five losses in their past six games, including a 63-21 loss last week to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chargers (5-9) have three games remaining, including Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills (8-6) at SoFi Stadium. They conclude the season with games against the Broncos (7-7) in Denver on Dec. 31 and at home against the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (9-5) either Jan. 6 or 7.
Joseph-Day was a key acquisition during the Chargers’ flurry of moves to beef up their defense in the offseason of 2022, when they also added outside linebacker Khalil Mack in a trade with the Chicago Bears and cornerback J.C. Jackson via free agency from the New England Patriots, among others.
The Chargers’ defense was only marginally improved during the 2022 season, when they ranked 21st in the 32-team NFL in points given up and 20th in yardage allowed. This season, through the first 14 games, the Chargers ranked 28th in points and 29th in yardage given up.
Sebastian-Day ended his Chargers career with 87 tackles, including 42 solo, five sacks, one interception, four passes defended and 12 tackles for losses in 30 games over two seasons. He spent his first three seasons with the Rams, who picked him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft from Rutgers.
