The Chargers opened preseason with a convincing 27-7 win over the Texans on Thursday night, and one of the clearest winners was defensive tackle TeRah Edwards.
Edwards, 25, came away from the game sounding energized by what he and the defense put on tape under Chris O'Leary. He pointed to the group’s buy-in and the payoff from a long camp.
"First preseason game out there with Coach O'Leary on the calls," Edwards said after the game"We've been bought in since Day 1 defensively, what he called. We just went out there and executed.
It's been good, it was fun out there. It was fun to go out there with the guys and see camp and all the grind days pay off."
The second-year defensive lineman made his presence felt early and kept showing up throughout the night. His impact went beyond the box score, with one of the biggest moments coming when he stopped Texans quarterback Graham Mertz on a sneak up the middle. That play shut down the drive on a turnover on downs and kept the Texans off the board.
If Edwards keeps building on a performance like that, he could make things interesting along a defensive line group that currently looks set to include Teair Tart, Dalvin Tomlinson, Jamaree Caldwell, Justin Eboigbe and Nick Barrett. There’s at least a path for Edwards to push that room to six deep if he continues to stand out.
Edwards signed a future contract with the Chargers in January for the 2026 season. The Ohio native played at Illinois and was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2024.
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