Chargers trade away DT in Panthers deal

The Los Angeles Chargers have traded defensive tackle TeRah Edwards to the Carolina Panthers for a 2028 sixth-round draft pick, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The move came just ahead of Sunday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline for NFL teams to finalize their 53-man rosters.

Edwards entered the league as an undrafted free agent from the Illinois Fighting Illini in 2025 after spending five years in college between Northwestern and Illinois. From 2020 through 2024, he recorded 67 combined tackles, including 7.0 tackles for loss, along with 4.0 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

The 6-foot-2, 305-pound defensive lineman did not play in a regular-season game during his rookie year and instead spent the 2025 season developing on Los Angeles’ practice squad. He did, however, see preseason action, appearing in three games and finishing with 10 combined tackles, 11 pressures and seven stops.

Edwards continued to make an impact during the 2026 preseason. In the Chargers’ preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams, he made four tackles and generated two pressures while repeatedly showing an ability to disrupt opposing backfields.

Despite that production, Edwards was competing for a roster spot in a crowded defensive interior. Los Angeles already had Teair Tart, Dalvin Tomlinson, Jamaree Caldwell, Justin Eboigbe and Nick Barrett in the defensive tackle group, with the organization having committed heavy draft capital and salary-cap resources to the position.

The Chargers therefore opted to turn Edwards’ preseason performance into draft compensation rather than risk losing him through the waiver process.