San Diego Chargers: Bront Bird Signed and Bryan Walters Cut Prior to Chiefs Game

With Larry English recently placed on injured reserve due to a broken foot and Shaun Phillips failing to make the trip to Kansas City for tonight's game due to a foot injury, the San Diego Chargers have signed linebacker Bront Bird and let go of wide receiver Bryan Walters.

Bird is expected to contribute on special teams and give the Chargers depth at the linebacker position for tonight's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

In preseason play, Bird registered 13 tackles and looked good on kickoff coverage, a constant area of weakness for the Chargers.

Bird played at Texas Tech and led the team in tackles his senior season with 106. He also grabbed three interceptions for the Red Raiders.

Bryan Walters, a Cornell alum, had become a fan favorite due to his fantastic play during preseason. Walters electrified the San Diego fan base with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during the preseason.

San Diego fans hoped that Walters would be the successor to Darren Sproles as a return man, but he performed poorly in his limited amount of time as the punt returner for the Chargers.

Walters averaged a meager 5.6 yards per punt return on eight punt returns. His longest return of the year went for 13 yards.

Some pessimistic Chargers fans have likened dropping Walters to the Chargers letting Wes Welker go as an undrafted free agent.

However, Walters has not been nearly as impressive as Welker was in his short stint with the Chargers and the move should not have an impact on the team. 

Bront Bird's time with the Chargers will likely be short-lived as the Chargers are currently shopping for a veteran linebacker to contribute due to the injuries to Phillips and English.