The Los Angeles Chargers released wide receiver Gary Jennings on Tuesday in a corresponding move after signing tight end Hayden Rucci from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, via the NFL transaction wire.
The roster shuffle came a day after the Chargers placed tight ends David Njoku and Charlie Kolar on injured reserve. Njoku is expected to miss at least four weeks with a knee injury; Kolar is out with a forearm injury.
Rucci, an undrafted 2024 product out of Wisconsin, has appeared in four NFL games and will add depth behind Oronde Gadsden.
Jennings’ latest stint with the Bolts was brief. The Chargers signed him to the 53-man roster on Sept. 15 after placing wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith on injured reserve.
He had been on the practice squad after a late-August signing during training camp and a subsequent waiver at roster cutdowns. Jennings did not record a catch in Los Angeles’ Week 2 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 29-year-old was a fourth-round pick (120th overall) by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2019 NFL Draft.
His only regular-season appearance came as a rookie after Miami claimed him off waivers; he has bounced among practice squads and camp rosters with the Ravens, Bills, Colts, Raiders, Chiefs, and Panthers since then. He also spent time in the XFL and UFL with the St. Louis Battlehawks and Birmingham Stallions.
At West Virginia from 2015-18, Jennings posted 168 receptions for 2,294 yards and 17 touchdowns, ranking among the program’s career leaders in both catches and receiving yards.
In 2017, he recorded 97 receptions for 1,096 yards and one touchdown, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. He followed that with 13 receiving touchdowns as a senior in 2018.
The move is a standard midseason numbers play. With injuries thinning the tight end room and the Chargers already carrying several receivers, Los Angeles prioritized positional depth over keeping Jennings on the 53-man roster.
He is now a free agent and can be claimed or signed to another team’s practice squad.
Jennings’ college production, especially that 1,096-yard junior season at West Virginia, once made him an intriguing developmental prospect.
Seven years later, he remains a depth option whose NFL opportunities have been fleeting.
Whether another club gives him another look will depend on the usual mix of injuries, special-teams need, and roster space.
