LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Chargers will begin training camp this week marking the third year under coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz.
After two 11-win seasons and two disappointing playoff exits, there appears to be a sense of urgency among the players to turn championship aspirations into reality.
"I just think we're hungry," offensive tackle Rashawn Slater said. "I think everyone that's been here for a while knows we're due to go win. We're due to go execute and do what we know we're capable of. And so we're all on the same page, and the excitement's in the air."
The team has new faces on the coaching staff, headlined by offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary. The Chargers hope the tweaks to their staff and roster will make this season different.
As they navigate a pivotal 2026 season, here are some players who also have a lot at stake going into training camp.
Derius Davis, WR
As a rookie in 2023, Davis emerged as one of the league's best returners and was a jolt of energy each time he got the ball. His 16.0-yard average on punt returns led the NFL, and he's the last Charger to return a punt for a touchdown -- an 87-yard score in Week 9 of 2023 against the Jets. Davis earned second-team All-Pro honors that season.
Since then, however, Davis hasn't reached the heights of his rookie season. In 2025, he battled knee and ankle injuries that limited him to 11 games, and his average on punt returns was just 7.0 yards. In 2024, his average was 12.4.
The Chargers drafted Brenen Thompson, a similarly small and quick receiver with 4.29 speed, who could challenge Davis as a returner and in the offense. Still, sources with the team told ESPN that they are excited about Davis this season, pointing to how he transformed a struggling return unit as a rookie.
This camp will be pivotal for Davis to prove he can be a difference-maker for the return game and the offense.
Daiyan Henley, ILB
In three seasons, Henley has gone from a special teams player to a captain and one of the most important players on the defense. He had his best season in 2024, when he finished eighth in the NFL in tackles (147) and received votes for the NFL's All-Pro team, though he wasn't selected.
In 2025, Henley's play fluctuated between bad and good in what he called the worst year of his life. It began in March, when Henley's father was arrested and charged with 43 counts of running an enterprise that committed a series of racketeering crimes. Then came an illness that began in the days leading up to the Week 2 game against the Raiders, which made eating painful and caused Henley to lose 15 pounds. Just as Henley had recovered, his brother was shot and killed two days before the Week 9 game against the Titans. Henley finished the season with 103 tackles and a career-high 3.5 sacks.
Now, he enters the final year of his rookie contract. He could use this camp and this season to solidify himself as the future of the Chargers' defense at middle linebacker or earn a payday elsewhere. Either way, the stakes are high.
Quentin Johnston, WR
The Chargers picked up Johnston's fifth-year, $18 million option, a sign that this organization believes in the long-term potential that made him a first-round pick in 2023. With each season, Johnston's play has improved. As a rookie, he struggled with drops and creating separation, but he has led the Chargers in touchdowns over the past two seasons.
McDaniel has compared him to two of the best receivers of this generation in former Texan Andre Johnson and former Falcon Julio Jones because of Johnston's size (6-foot-3, 208 pounds) and yards-after-catch ability.
Still, Johnston has yet to prove himself to be a consistent week-to-week threat. With Tre' Harris entering his second season and Ladd McConkey established as this team's No. 1 wide receiver, Johnston enters training camp looking to prove that he can be a consistent outside threat.
Tuli Tuipulotu, OLB
Tuipulotu has established himself as one of the league's best pass rushers. His 13 sacks last season were sixth in the NFL. He is entering the final season of his contract and is due for a significant payday. Tuipulotu's agent and the Chargers have discussed an extension this offseason, but nothing has materialized yet.
Tuipulotu could choose to sit out training camp without a new deal, which would make things difficult for a team implementing a new defensive scheme. When asked about potentially holding out during training camp at the end of last season, Tuipulotu said he would do whatever is best for his family.
Jake Slaughter, OG
The Chargers picked Slaughter in the second round of this year's draft with the intention of playing him at left guard. It will be an adjustment for the rookie, who played all of his college snaps at center, but it's one the Chargers' evaluators believe he is suited to make based on watching his film and workouts throughout the draft process.
Still, Slaughter will have to earn that right in training camp as he battles with Kayode Awosika, Trey Pipkins III and Trevor Penning. Considering where the Chargers selected him, it appears to be Slaughter's job to lose. If he isn't the Week 1 starter at left guard, it will come as a significant surprise.
Junior Colson, ILB
Since the Chargers drafted Colson in the third round of the 2024 draft, his career hasn't played out as he or the organization anticipated. Colson, who won a national championship with Harbaugh at Michigan months before the Chargers drafted him, struggled as a rookie. He didn't show the same quickness or comfort level he had at Michigan, where he established himself as one of the top linebackers in college football. He finished his rookie season with just 29 tackles and appeared in only 11 games due to a hamstring injury.
His second year ended before it began as a shoulder injury landed Colson on season-ending injured reserve before training camp. Now, he heads into a camp that comes with significant consequences. Colson could perform well enough to be a starter -- or find himself fighting to make the 53-man roster.
