The Los Angeles Chargers announced their first player transactions of 2018, signing six members of the practice squad to reserve/future contracts. Players who were not on an active roster at the end of the season are eligible to sign a reserve/future contract, and revert to the active roster at the start of the new league year.
Here are the six players that were signed on Monday:
TE Braedon Bowman – The 6-4, 240-pound tight end spent virtually the entire season on the practice squad. Bowman appeared in three games for the New York Jets in 2016 before suffering an ACL injury.
G Brett Boyko – Boyko has developed over the past two seasons on the team's practice squad, and had a cup of coffee on the active roster late in the year, appearing in the win over the New York Jets. A 6-6, 301-pound tackle out of UNLV, he spent all of 2015 on the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad before joining the Bolts.
S A.J. Hendy – The safety joined the Chargers' practice squad in early October. A 6-0, 206-pound cornerback out of Maryland, Hendy signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins in 2016. He spent the first 16 weeks on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster for the Week 17 finale, seeing action on special teams. He totaled 16 tackles in four games this preseason with the Dolphins, but was waived during final roster reductions.
OLB James Onwualu – Onwualu signed with the Chargers this year as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame. He appeared in nine games, making his biggest contribution on special teams with nine tackles.
DE Whitney Richardson – After joining the Chargers late in the summer, Richardson spent multiple stints on the team's practice squad. A 6-4, 251-pound product out of Lane College (Tenn.), he was the Division II Defensive Player of the Year in his lone season with the Dragons. The defensive end logged 17.5 sacks, 75 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 10 games.
C Cole Toner – The Harvard product and former Arizona Cardinals draft pick was signed to the practice squad in early November. The 6-5, 300-pound Toner was selected in the fifth-round (170th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft. He appeared in two games last year for Arizona, and was on the New England Patriots' practice squad before coming to L.A.
