Teair Tart is having a much different offseason than he did around this time last year.

After joining the Chargers last season in the middle of training camp, the veteran defensive lineman has been relishing his first full offseason in the powder blue.

"I wasn't here last year around this time, so it's all a little bit new to me," Tart said on Monday. "We're just getting after it."

Tart agreed to a contract extension prior to the start of free agency, locking in his return to a team where he was able to find a lot of success in his role.

The 28-year-old defensive lineman played in all 17 games for the Bolts notching 29 tackles (15 solo), a sack, five tackles for loss, an interception and a forced fumble on the league's best scoring defense.

He also set career-highs in Pro Football Focus' defense (76.9) and run defense (70.9) as well as his second-best pass rush grade (75.6), all of which ranked in the top 16 among all defensive tackles with at least 300 snaps.

Coming back to the team he fit in all aspects from the jump and had one of his better years was a no brainer for him.

"I like the culture here, I love the team," Tart said. "I think one of the biggest reasons was I been on a couple of teams ... it feels really good to be wanted somewhere and an organization embracing not just part of you, but all of you and accepting you in and appreciative in the things you bring to the table and not banging on your defaults.

"That's one of the biggest reasons," Tart added.

And he was able to succeed with the Chargers despite getting into the fold later than most.

Tart was signed by the team on August 15 last season, two days before the team's second preseason game.

Not only did he play that game on a short turnaround, he also notched a tackle for loss despite being on the team for only a couple of days and built from there.

There was a lot of catching up to do for Tart even when the season got going, but Chargers defensive line coach Mike Elston was impressed by how he was able to fit in despite missing a lot of crucial moments of the offseason.

"He picked things up pretty good because we had a lot in with scheme and technique," Elston said. "It's not just scheme, there's a lot of technique things that you drill during OTAs, and you drill during training camp that he missed on.

"There were going to be things he was going to do different than other guys, you don't have time to catch him up," Elston added. "But his willingness to try it and do it and, when the ball was snapped, his physicality and aggressiveness is what stood out."

Things have changed considerably for Tart now in 2025.

He now gets a full offseason to focus more on the nuances rather than trying to get everything down like last year in addition to having the familiarity with the coaching staff and the players.

"Now, I get to actually slow it down, install the playbook, understand everything into detail like a vet should," Tart said. "Install the small details that really make a play, a play."

Tart later added: "It's going to be miles different because I'm going to be able to process the play faster. I'm not going to be sitting there constantly thinking, thinking, so I'm going to be able to move faster and play faster. That's why it will be a big difference, not just sitting there, overthinking things."

With more comfort on the Bolts and perhaps more opportunities available, Tart could be a bigger figure to a Chargers defense that is looking to build on last season's success

"Teair right now is on a climb," Elston said. "Who knows where [he could go]? It may level off, but right now he is ascending, and I couldn't be more excited for how he is ascending as a player, a teammate.

"How he's training and working in this environment, he didn't have that a year ago," Elston added. "Every hurdle, every obstacle we've put in front of him to overcome, he has been ascending and it's exciting."