San Diego Chargers Tickets - Chargers Continue To Cement Roster

The San Diego Chargers are set to kick off their preseason on Aug

. 14 with a home game against the Chicago Bears, and in the weeks leading up to their first preseason game, they were continuing to solidify their roster. Perhaps the biggest news prior to the start of the preseason was the securing of star linebacker Shawne Merriman. Merriman had been out of the two weeks of training camp leading up to the preseason because of a lack of a new contract.

One day before their preseason start, Merriman took to his Twitter account to announce: "Just signed my tender and glad to be back with my teammates thanks to everyone." The restricted free-agent tender is reportedly a one-year deal worth $3.269 million. Merriman's knee injury kept him out of the 2008 season, and he still seemed to be nursing the injury last season along with a foot injury. In 14 games, he had 36 tackles and four sacks, which is a far cry from his career-high 68 tackles in 2007 and career-high 17 sacks in 2006.

Even before the season starts, the Chargers are dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball. Left tackle Tra Thomas had surgery on his knee, which will keep him out for two weeks; this is in addition to a contract holdout by left tackle Marcus McNeill. Left tackle Nick Richmond will also miss a couple of weeks because of knee surgery. Thomas is in his first season with the Chargers, after a long career with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998 to 2008 and one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2009.

The defense is also taking a hit because of injuries, starting with rookie linebacker Donald Butler. Butler injured his Achilles tendon in practice and will miss the entire season. He was picked up by the Chargers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. To add depth to their linebacker position, the Chargers claimed linebacker Ali Highsmith. Highsmith was waived by the Arizona Cardinals. Highsmith has been in the league for two years, both with the Cardinals. In that time, he has played in 20 games and tallied 17 tackles.

The Chargers have high expectations to live up to in 2010. Last season, they finished easily at the top of the AFC West with a record of 13-3. They lost in the divisional round to the New York Jets in a close 17-14 loss. Along with the game against the Chicago Bears, the Chargers will face the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. The Bolts' regular season begins on Monday, Sept. 13 with an away game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bolts could be poised for a repeat run to the playoffs, which explains the popularity of San Diego Chargers tickets.

One way the Chargers have prepared for the season was to host a group of NFL officials during training camp. The officials were there to explain new rules and interpretations to the team as well as answer any questions.

by: Pat Smith

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