The Chargers signed safety Shalom Luani to the practice squad on Wednesday, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Luani, the former Washington State, was drafted by the Raiders in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL draft. He played in all 16 games with Oakland, but he primarily served as a special teamer.
Last year on cutdown day, the Seahawks traded a draft pick to Oakland for Luani. Coach Pete Carroll saw the impact that he was on special teams and decided to pull the trigger on him.
Special teams is what Luani primarily played in the 12 games that he appeared with Seattle, where he posted nine tackles and one quarterback hit.
Luani was waived on cutdown day a month ago.
Los Angeles is thin at the safety position with Derwin James and Adrian Phillips currently on the injured reserve, and rookie Nasir Adderley dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. Because of the lack of depth, they were in need of bringing someone onboard.
If needed to be called up, Luani provides the Bolts not only with a special teams ace, but a player who’s capable of manning both safety spots. He’s a heady player with the instincts, quickness, ball skills and aggressive nature to make plays.
