The Los Angeles Chargers today activated outside linebacker Khalil Mack and linebacker Denzel Perryman from Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return. In a corresponding move, the team waived outside linebacker Caleb Murphy. The Bolts also signed long snapper Rick Lovato to the practice squad, elevating him and running back Nyheim Hines from the practice squad for Sunday's game.
Mack is among the most decorated defensive players in football, having been named the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. He is a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, including three times as a Charger, and a three-time first-team All-Pro from The Associated Press. Mack is a four-time AFC Defensive Player of the Week winner and has won Defensive Player of the Month three times, winning each once with the Chargers in 2023.
A team captain in all four seasons with the Bolts, Mack has started 52 regular-season games with the Chargers since the start of the 2022 season. He had a career year in 2023, eclipsing 12 sacks to join Hall of Fame linebacker Kevin Greene as the only players with 12-plus sacks for three different franchises since 1982. He ranked fourth in the NFL with a career-high and single-season franchise-record 17 sacks. Mack turned in a record-setting performance with six sacks in the team's Week 4 win over Las Vegas, earning AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors and joining Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas as the only players with multiple performances of five-plus sacks since individual sacks began being tracked in 1982. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month honors in November 2023 after leading the league with six sacks and two strip-sacks during the month.
Originally the No. 5 overall selection by the Oakland Raiders in 2014, Mack has started 168-of-169 career regular-season games with the Raiders, Bears and Chargers. He has recorded 108.5 sacks, 632 tackles (464 solo), three interceptions, 187 quarterback hits, 143 tackles for loss, 32 forced fumbles and 13 recoveries in his career. In his second pro season in 2015, Mack became the first player ever to be named an AP first-team All-Pro at two different positions — defensive end and outside linebacker. That year, he posted a career-high 23 tackles for loss and added 15 sacks, including five in a single game.
In his eighth season with the Chargers (2015-20, '24-25), Perryman has started 63-of-81 career games played with the Bolts, totaling 404 tackles (289 solo), 28 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and a recovery. He was a mainstay on the NFL's top scoring defense last season, as the Bolts allowed just 17.7 points per game, totaling 55 tackles (39 solo), a sack and two tackles for loss in the regular season. A former second-round pick of the Chargers in the 2015 NFL Draft (48th overall), Perryman was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week in 2016 after he picked off a pass in the fourth quarter to set up a game-tying field goal before posting a tackle for loss on fourth down in overtime to force a turnover.
After his first stint with the Chargers, Perryman played two seasons in Las Vegas (2021-22), earning a Pro Bowl selection following his first season with the Raiders. That year, he ranked sixth in the NFL with 154 tackles and tied for No. 3 among all defenders with 102 solo stops, both setting career highs. For his career, Perryman has started 99-of-119 career regular-season games, totaling 710 tackles (483 solo), 7.5 sacks, five interceptions, 53 tackles for loss, 14 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and three recoveries.
Perryman was a two-time first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection at the University of Miami, playing four seasons for the Hurricanes (2011-14). As a senior, he was a finalist for the Butkus Award, which annually recognizes the top linebacker in college football, and also was named an Associated Press third-team All-American. He totaled 351 tackles at Miami, leading the team as a senior (110) and junior (108). Perryman added 4.5 sacks, 27 tackles for loss, seven forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions in his 47 career games (37 starts).
Lovato snapped in all six games this season for the Bolts, totaling 157 career games (145 regular season, 17 postseason) with the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers. He has snapped for a Bolts operation this season that has converted all 14 field goals and all 11 extra point attempts. Lovato was a consistent contributor for the Eagles from 2017-24, earning Pro Bowl recognition in 2019 and helping Philadelphia win a pair of Super Bowls. Over his tenure in the City of Brotherly Love, Lovato snapped for an operation that saw kicker Jake Elliott make 84.8 percent of his field goals (196-of-231) and score a total of 906 points. He helped Elliott be named to the Pro Bowl in 2021 and an Associated Press second-team All-Pro in 2023. Lovato snapped collegiately at Old Dominion, appearing in 50 games for the Monarchs, earning All-America honors from College Sporting News in 2012.
Hines, a former fourth-round pick by Indianapolis in the 2018 NFL Draft (104th overall), has been a dynamic returner in his five-year NFL career while adding offensive versatility. He played in Week 6 for the Bolts as a standard elevation, returning three kickoffs for 97 yards (32.3 avg.), including a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning drive. Hines has appeared in 82 career regular-season games, making 17 starts at running back. Hines has posted 1,202 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 306 carries (3.9 avg.), while adding 240 receptions for 1,778 yards (7.4 avg.) and eight receiving scores on offense. On special teams, he has notched 89 punt returns for 1,015 yards (11.4 avg.) and a pair of touchdowns, while adding 35 kickoff returns for 914 yards (26.1 avg.) and two scores. Hines is a two-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week winner, most recently in Week 18 of the 2022 season after returning two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Over three seasons on the gridiron at North Carolina State (2015-17), Hines appeared in 38 games, rushing for 1,399 yards and 13 touchdowns on 258 attempts (5.4 avg.). He added 89 career receptions for 933 yards (10.5 avg.) and a score. Hines earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and Sun Bowl MVP recognition for a career year in 2017, when he totaled 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns on 197 rushing attempts (5.6 avg.) and added 26 catches for 152 yards (5.8 avg.). One of football's fastest players, Hines also ran track for the Wolfpack, earning All-America status in 2016 for the 4x100-meter relay. He won the outdoor 4x100-meter relay in back-to-back years (2016-17) and earned a total of four All-ACC honors in outdoor track and field.
