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Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
‘The Harbaugh way': Even practice jerseys are a source of pride
It was a summer day in June, but Daiyan Henley was dressed for a prime-time moment. Fitted with long socks, white pants and a sleeve on his elbow, the Chargers linebacker's practice jersey was complete with game-ready lightning bolts on each shoulder. Other team's practice jerseys are plain. They're looser. They're more breathable. 'But this is us,' Henley said, running his fingertips over his crisp blue jersey. 'This is clean.' 'This,' he added, 'is the Harbaugh way.' Entering his second season at the helm as training camp begins Thursday, Jim Harbaugh is firmly woven into the fabric of the Chargers organization. The coach responsible for the franchise's best single-season turnaround in 20 years was the mastermind behind the team's new practice jersey patches. Already outfitted with their elevated practice jerseys, players now wear their biggest accomplishments on their chest with patches that celebrate personal victories while pushing for collective success. The patches represent eight accomplishments: Playoff wins, Chargers records, NFL records, All-Pro seasons, seasons as a team captain, Walter Payton Man of the Year, the NFL's Ed Block Courage Award, and the block of granite award determined by the Chargers strength and conditioning staff. The only player who has at least one of each is Derwin James Jr. The four-time team captain's right chest is plastered with three playoff appearances, three Chargers records, three NFL records, two nominations for man of the year, four All-Pro honors and one each of the courage and block of granite awards. He wants to collect enough patches to reach down to his ribs. 'At the end of the day, we're all professionals, this is a professional league, but [the patches] kind of keep us connected and get a little bragging rights in the locker room,' James said. 'Guys want to compete for their jersey to look like that too.' At Michigan, Harbaugh used helmet stickers to symbolize each player's accomplishments. The jersey patches remind the coach of the stripes on a general's uniform. 'Some day, they'll be able to put that jersey up in a frame, put it on a wall, say something really good about themselves,' Harbaugh said. 'It'll be what they accomplished as a pro football player.' The patches are Harbaugh's latest culture-setting innovation. He outfitted the locker room with personalized locker name tags that list each player's hometown, college, high school and recruiting ranking to promote team bonding. The coach handed out metal lunch pails and blue-collar work shirts customized with embroidered name tags to symbolize the team's hard-working mentality. Hoodies celebrated major victories such as the team's thriller against the Cincinnati Bengals, a late-season Thursday night victory over the Denver Broncos and the playoff-clinching win over the New England Patriots. 'He wants it to be close-knit, in house,' Henley said. 'Everything is love and football and family, and that's how we go about our business. Now that we have another year under our belt, we've had bad games and good games and we've gone the distance and also didn't accomplish what we wanted to, all of that wrapped into one, is what's motivating us and pushing us forward.' After going 11-6 in Harbaugh's first regular season, the Chargers won't be a sleeper playoff contender again. With momentum from a successful start to the Harbaugh era, the team hopes to make consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 2009. 'We're far ahead of where we were last year, but there's still a lot of work to do,' quarterback Justin Herbert said during minicamp. 'I think guys have done a great job this offseason of showing up mentally prepared and being focused day in and day out.' Herbert's jersey patches require multiple rows of lightning bolt tally marks to display his numerous NFL and Chargers records. Yet the quarterback is missing a playoff win mark. Not only is he 0-2 in the postseason, both losses came in spectacular disasters. The Chargers blew a 27-point lead against Jacksonville in a 2022 wild-card game. He threw four interceptions against the Houston Texans last year. Despite Herbert's elite athleticism and arm talent, the 27-year-old will remain an afterthought in the quarterback hierarchy until he finds the playoff success that follows contemporaries Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. The prize they're all chasing is worth much more than a new jersey patch. The Chargers placed five players on the physically unable to perform list before training camp: S Elijah Molden, WR Mike Williams, WR Jaylen Johnson, LB Del'Shawn Phillips and T Savion Washington. Molden, who signed a three-year extension in February, underwent offseason knee surgery and missed all of the offseason program. He said in April that he expected to be ready for training camp.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Broncos roster: OL Mike McGlinchey (No. 69) is one of Bo Nix's top protectors
Broncos Wire's 90-man offseason roster series continues today with a look at eighth-year offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey, No. 69. Before the Broncos: McGlinchey (6-8, 315 pounds) was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft out of Notre Dame. Under head coach Kyle Shanahan, McGlinchey immediately started all 16 games his rookie season and was named to the Pro Football Writers Association's All-Rookie Team. In 2019, McGlinchey appeared in and started 12 regular season games and all playoff games, helping San Francisco to Super Bowl LIV. In 2020, McGlinchey was again a constant on the offensive line, starting all 16 games he played in. In 2021, McGlinchey began the year with eight starts in eight games, before suffering a quad injury that necessitated him being placed on injured reserve and shut down for the rest of the season in November. McGlinchey rebounded in 2022 starting all 17 games and three playoff games for the 49ers, helping them earn a berth in the NFC championship game. McGlinchey earned San Francisco's Ed Block Courage Award in that season as well. Broncos tenure: In 2023, McGlinchey was brought in on a five-year contract worth $87.5 million by head coach Sean Payton as part of a revamp of the offensive line to try and protect then-quarterback Russell Wilson, who had suffered through a league-worst 55 sacks in 2022. McGlinchey helped Wilson to improve, but not much in 2023, to have 45 sacks. In 2024, it was expected that the Broncos would see the same type of offensive quagmire that Wilson had brought, especially with a rookie quarterback at the helm. Instead, McGlinchey and the rest of the Broncos' offensive line helped Bo Nix only have 24 sacks last fall. McGlinchey missed nearly a month with an MCL sprain, but while he was in the lineup, McGlinchey started all 13 games he appeared in, along with Denver's playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills. Chances to make the 53-man roster: 100 percent. McGlinchey recently spoke about the offensive line's continuity, which will hopefully help Nix have an even better year in 2025. The unit also hopes to jumpstart one of the NFL's worst rushing attacks from 2024 into a more elite unit in 2025. McGlinchey is locked into the starting right tackle job, and he's a lock to make the active roster. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Chicago Tribune
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
After 3 seasons with Chicago Bears, Lake Zurich's Jack Sanborn is ‘grateful' for new start with Dallas Cowboys
As Jack Sanborn enters his first season with the Dallas Cowboys, consider some of the previous stops in his football career. He started at middle linebacker as a freshman at Lake Zurich in 2014. He played in 11 games as a freshman at Wisconsin in 2018. He signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and started six games as a rookie. 'The thing I saw in Jack, even his freshman year, was his willingness to do whatever it took to make himself better,' former Lake Zurich coach David Proffitt said. 'The players that stay consistent in doing those things usually go further in their careers.' So don't expect the 6-foot-2, 234-pound Sanborn to take his foot off the gas in Dallas. He knows what he has to do to continue playing in the NFL. 'It's your job,' he said. 'In college, I started to believe that the NFL was a true tangible goal I could pursue. Now that I'm here, I don't take it for granted. 'It's an incredible privilege to play a game at the highest possible level, and it's important to understand that improving every day is necessary because there's always someone waiting and working to take your spot.' Sanborn kept a roster spot for three seasons in Chicago. He played in 48 games, including 19 starts, and recorded 164 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks. Off the field, he received the Ed Block Courage Award in March 2024. 'There were definitely a ton of moments where I had to sit back and pinch myself, especially early in my career, thinking about where I was playing,' he said. 'I obviously had a close interest in the Bears growing up here. 'But that was the last thing on my mind after college when I was just trying to do everything I was supposed to do to make the team. It all happened so fast.' Sanborn had to find a new team in the offseason, however. He was a restricted free agent and wasn't tendered a contract by the Bears. So Sanborn signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Cowboys in March. He has reunited with former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who is the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, and former Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi. 'In leaving (the Bears), it's only natural to wonder what type of business the NFL is,' Sanborn said. 'Was I disappointed in the moment after it happened? Yes. But now I'm having another 'pinch me' moment playing for the Dallas Cowboys. I'm so grateful to be part of the culture they're trying to build there.' Sanborn, who could return to Soldier Field when the Cowboys visit the Bears on Sept. 21, is also grateful for the journey. 'Every step is so great, and every step is worthy of celebration,' he said. With each step Sanborn has taken, one thing hasn't changed. 'I think it's crucial that I've never lost my passion for football,' he said. 'It's different now than it was when I was 7 or 8 playing with my friends. I've got certain priorities in my job as an athlete. But it's important to have that abundant belief that you can do whatever you put your mind to.'
USA Today
05-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Broncos safety P.J. Locke underwent spinal fusion surgery
We now know why Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke was sidelined this spring. The 28-year-old defensive back revealed in a 14-minute YouTube documentary, "My Breakthrough," that he underwent spinal fusion surgery this offseason. It's an uncommon procedure for active NFL players, but former quarterback Peyton Manning did continue his pro football career after multiple surgeries. Locke said that after the Broncos were knocked out of the playoffs in January, he had an MRI and was told he needed immediate back surgery. The video's description says there were "no guarantees" Locke would be able to play football again, but about six months post-surgery, he provided a positive update. 'Even the little bit of pain I do have from certain movements, it's nothing compared to what I was dealing with during the season,' Locke says in the video. 'I feel like it's been a miracle. I feel like it's a breakthrough I've been praying for. It came out of a blessing that I wasn't expecting.' Locke suffered through his back injury last fall, playing exactly 1,000 snaps on defense. Players named Locke the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner at the end of the season. Recipients of the award demonstrate "exceptional courage, great character and inspiring effort." After undergoing surgery with Dr. Chad Prusmack, Locke will now compete for playing time in Denver's secondary following the arrival of new safety Talanoa Hufanga. Broncos coach Sean Payton has said wide receiver A.T. Perry is the only player expected to be sidelined at the start of training camp, which presumably means Locke is on track to return to the field when camp begins later this month. Related: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
NBC Sports
03-07-2025
- Health
- NBC Sports
P.J. Locke underwent spinal fusion surgery during the offseason
Broncos safety P.J. Locke underwent back surgery shortly after the team's playoff loss to the Bills, he announced in a 14-minute YouTube video. The first episode of the personal documentary series, 'My Breakthrough,' lays out that there were 'no guarantees that P.J. would return to play football ever again' as one of the first NFL players to undergo spinal fusion surgery. Locke shared a meeting with his surgeon, Dr. Chad Prusmack, on Feb. 10 after surgery. The degenerated discs in Locke's L4 and L5 vertebrae led to bone-on-bone, and Prusmack fused the spine with a 'cage' and screws. 'How I felt the first week after surgery. It's like: 'Oh, my God. I don't know how I'm going to get better after this,'' Locke said in the video, via Kyle Frederickson of the Denver Gazette. Five months later, though, Locke said he's 'got no pain levels.' 'Even the little bit of pain I do have from certain movements, it's nothing compared to what I was dealing with during the season,' Locke said. 'I feel like it's been a miracle. I feel like it's a breakthrough I've been praying for. It came out of a blessing that I wasn't expecting.' Locke was named the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner in January. No one outside the locker room realized exactly what he was going through to get on the field for 15 games last season. He played 1,000 defensive snaps in the regular season and all 76 snaps in the postseason loss. Locke did not participate in the team's offseason program as he continued his rehab. He is expected to compete for safety snaps after the Broncos signed Talanoa Hufanga in free agency.
