Tom Telesco’s 2019 first-round pick is no longer a Charger.
The team announced Thursday that it had waived defensive lineman Jerry Tillery. The move comes after Tillery did not practice this week due to a personal matter, per the injury report. The former Notre Dame standout was also nursing a back injury suffered during a bye-week lifting session.
It’s the end of a disappointing tenure for Tillery, who never found his footing as a full-time starter after being selected with the No. 28 pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
Many fans criticized him for his shortcomings as a run defender when asked to play all three downs. Still, this season especially, Tillery was one of the few defensive linemen able to generate pressure on quarterbacks from the interior.
The move leaves L.A. with Sebastian Joseph-Day, Morgan Fox, Otito Ogbonnia, Christian Covington, and Breiden Fehoko as its healthy defensive linemen. Austin Johnson was placed on injured reserve earlier this week with the knee injury he suffered against the Falcons.
