The Chargers are bringing back a familiar face.
Los Angeles signed outside linebacker Caleb Murphy to its practice squad after the New York Giants let him go during the 2026 roster cutdown. For Murphy, it’s another stop in a career that has already taken him from Tennessee to Los Angeles to New England and now back to the Chargers.
Murphy did enough in Giants camp and preseason to get noticed. He flashed on Aug. 5 with a potential sack in practice, then made his presence felt in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings with a goal-line stop. He kept showing up in the game against the Miami Dolphins, too, forcing a punt-return fumble with a hit and standing out among New York’s linebackers.
Still, the Giants didn’t keep him on the 53-man roster.
The 26-year-old entered the league in 2023 as an undrafted free agent out of Ferris State and initially signed with the Tennessee Titans. He later landed on the Chargers’ practice squad on Oct. 30, 2024, and Los Angeles followed that by signing him to a reserve/future contract in January 2025.
Murphy’s first stint with the Chargers included six games, 12 combined tackles and 0.5 sacks. He was also used mostly on special teams during those early NFL chances.
The Chargers waived him in October 2025 after activating Khalil Mack and Denzel Perryman from injured reserve. New England picked him up off waivers, and he appeared in five games for the Patriots with two special-teams tackles.
From there, the Giants claimed him off waivers in December 2025 and re-signed him in March 2026.
Now the 6-foot-3, 254-pound linebacker is back in Los Angeles, where he adds depth at outside linebacker and more special-teams experience to the practice squad.
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