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Arguably no singular position group has been hurt by injuries more than the Los Angeles Chargers' secondary with one game remaining before the playoffs. As they scramble to adapt to late-season injury additions, the team signed veteran safety Terrell Edmunds to its practice squad on Thursday ahead of Week 18.
To make room for Edmunds, the Chargers simultaneously released undrafted rookie Emany Johnson, they announced on social media. Edmunds becomes the fourth defensive back on Los Angeles' practice squad, joining Shaun Wade, Dicaprio Bootle and Kendall Williamson.
Edmunds began 2024 with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being released and re-signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that he spent his first five years with. He appeared in five games with the Steelers before being released again and has been out of the league since.
In his five games of 2024, Edmunds amassed just seven total tackles. He has not played in 10 or more games since 2022, the final year of his initial stint with the Steelers.
Edmunds, a former first-round pick in 2018, is the older brother of Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. The two brothers have a third sibling — Trey Edmunds, a fullback — who played with Terrell Edmunds on the Steelers before retiring from professional football in 2023. The three brothers all played collegiately at Virginia Tech.
Chargers fight for No. 5 seed with Steelers
Ironically, Edmunds' first game with his new team will directly rival his former club. The Chargers and Steelers have both already clinched playoff spots but will fight for the No. 5 seed in Week 18 due to their identical 10-6 records.
The team that secures the No. 5 seed will meet the Houston Texans, who are locked into the No. 4 seed. Of the remaining playoff teams, the 9-7 Texans are a considerably softer matchup than the 11-5 Baltimore Ravens. As the No. 3 seed, Baltimore will face the No. 6 seed at home.
For the Chargers to clinch the No. 5 seed, they will need to beat the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8 while hoping for a Steelers loss. Pittsburgh will have an exponentially tougher matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, who are one of three teams fighting for the final AFC playoff spot.
The Steelers have an additional chance of winning their division outright if the Ravens lose in Week 18. Baltimore is one game ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North and can clinch the division with a win over the lowly Cleveland Browns.
Neither the Chargers nor Steelers have stated any intentions of resting their starting quarterback. Expect both Justin Herbert and Russell Wilson to play in their respective regular-season finales.
