Coming into the Los Angeles Chargers training camp/preseason, there was little reason to think there would be much competition for roster spots among the wide receiver corps. Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Josh Palmer, and Jalen Guyton were all essentially locks to make the roster, while DeAndre Carter looked to be the most likely fifth option to be kept as a return man. Maybe Joe Reed would make a push in his third year, but that was about it. And yet, an unexpected contender has arisen by the name of Michael Bandy, who is making a push to take a sixth spot, if there is one available.
Michael Bandy Making Unexpected Push for Spot on Los Angeles Chargers Roster
Bandy’s History
If you have no idea who Michael Bandy is, that’s understandable; he has played in exactly one NFL regular season game to date, and it was only as a return man. A former University of San Diego product, he went undrafted in 2020 and played in the now-defunct Spring League for a year before signing with the Chargers in June 2021. He did not make the final roster but did manage to secure a practice squad spot.
Bandy ended up being elevated to the active roster for the Week 16 game against the Houston Texans – the one where basically a third of the roster was out with COVID. He took the place of Andre Roberts at kick returns, where he took four returns for a respectable 88 yards. He returned to the practice squad after that and did not play again, but signed a new reserve/future contract with the Chargers in January 2022.
Bandy’s 2022 Preseason
Out of all the backups among the wide receivers, Bandy has made the most notable impression this preseason. In the first game of the preseason, he had seven catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. On the 16-yard touchdown, he ran quite a nice route where he sent a backup Rams defensive back skidding and ran into the end zone untouched.
.@mikeybandz5 showing off his route running skills 👀
📱: Stream #LARvsLAC on NFL+ https://t.co/uWNvagtj6A pic.twitter.com/CcjF781idl
— NFL (@NFL) August 14, 2022
The second game saw him finish with eight catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown this time came on the goal line as Chase Daniel was scrambling and trying to find somebody. Bandy then did a good job of getting himself open by slowing down a bit while the Rams secondary kept running to the right in the same direction Daniel was running, resulting in Daniel finding him for another touchdown. That leaves him with a total of 15 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns through two preseason games.
Where He Fits In
Bandy stands at 5’10, and while he was making plays in multiple spots, he does have more of an ideal build for slot receiver – the kind that Tom Brady would be salivating at. As stated earlier, he can also play return man. He had a couple of punt returns, but the kick returns have all gone to Joe Reed in the preseason – and after a rough performance in Week 2 of the preseason, they need to find a better option there (though it’s quite possible that DeAndre Carter already clinched that spot and so they didn’t see the need to risk him getting injured).
As was earlier stated, four of the Chargers wide receiver spots are essentially clinched. And if Carter has clinched the kick return spot as suggested earlier, that makes five. For the last few years, the Chargers have not kept more than five receivers on the roster, but Bandy might be worth making them keep six if they can spare a spot. If they chose to keep a sixth, there is no one else really in the running. Joe Reed caught a long touchdown in Week 1 of the preseason, but he has not done much else of note.
In Conclusion
Bandy may end up being at the bottom of the depth chart for now if the Chargers keep him, but he has shown himself to have a good skill-set and reliable hands as well. He has quite promising talent, and the Chargers should not want to see that slip away. Barring a flame-out in Week 3 of the preseason, Bandy has made a strong case to make the roster – and unless there simply is not room for a sixth receiver on the roster, the Chargers should give it to him.
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