With a playoff spot right around the corner for them, the Los Angeles Chargers are rolling the dice on a former draft bust.
The Chargers announced on Thursday that they are signing receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. to their practice squad. Fellow receiver Dez Fitzpatrick is being released from the Chargers’ practice squad to make room for Shenault.
The 26-year-old Shenault was a second-round pick out of Colorado in the 2019 NFL Draft (No. 42 overall). He was picked ahead of several future Pro Bowlers, including Antoine Winfield Jr., Jaylon Johnson, Trevon Diggs, Jalen Hurts, and Devin Duvernay.
But Shenault has not shown much as a pass-catcher to this point of his career with 1,587 yards and five touchdowns through five seasons. That includes just five catches for 36 yards and zero TDs in 11 games for the Seattle Seahawks this year (before Seattle released Shenault this week).
That said, Shenault may have found a new niche as a kick returner. He has been running back kicks for parts of the last three seasons and logged 459 yards and a touchdown on 16 total returns for Seattle this season. The 8-4 Chargers could opt to use Shenault in the same role but might also give him a try at receiver since they have some current wideouts struggling badly with drops right now.
