EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu did not participate in the team’s opening training camp practice Wednesday.His hold in, it seems, has begun.Tuipulotu and the Chargers have been engaged in contract negotiations throughout the offseason. Tuipulotu is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He has been eligible for an extension since the end of the 2025 season. He is coming off a career year when he finished sixth in the league in sacks. Tuipulotu also ranked sixth in pressure rate among all players with at least 300 pass rush snaps, according to TruMedia.The two sides have not yet come to terms on an extension, and so Tuipulotu is exercising his leverage by sitting out practice. Players can be fined if they do not report to training camp. Tuipulotu reported for camp Tuesday, arriving just after noon. Sitting out practice, or holding in, is one of the only ways a player can apply pressure within the rules and regulations governed by the collective bargaining agreement.
Tuli Tuipulotu arrives at #Chargers training camp. pic.twitter.com/VTmTyUvk8G
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) July 28, 2026“It’s a matter we’re handling internally,” a Chargers spokesman told The Athletic Wednesday when asked for comment on Tuipulotu’s contract situation.Coach Jim Harbaugh spoke before Wednesday’s practice. Less than an hour before the Chargers took the field, Harbaugh was asked if Tuipulotu would practice.“I think so,” Harbaugh said.Tuipulotu then emerged from inside the facility in a T-shirt and shorts. The rest of the players wore jerseys, football pants and helmets. Tuipulotu worked off to the side with a trainer for the first part of practice. He then spent time with executive director of player performance Ben Herbert, including in the weight room. As practice concluded, and the Chargers went through their fourth-quarter-finisher exercises, Tuipulotu looked on a few feet away from the drills.Based on Harbaugh’s pre-practice comments, Tuipulotu’s decision appeared to take the Chargers by surprise to a degree. Tuipulotu did participate fully in OTAs and minicamp. As the start of the regular season approaches, Tuipulotu has changed his approach. Given his production in 2025, now is the right time for Tuipulotu to lock up long-term security.Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz have been through this before. Last year in training camp, left tackle Rashawn Slater missed seven straight practices while he and his camp finalized a $114 million extension with the Chargers.In 2022, safety Derwin James Jr. held in during training camp before signing a $76.4 million extension in August. Harbaugh and Hortiz were not a part of that negotiation. But other members of the Chargers front office were, like president of football operations John Spanos and VP of football administration and player finance Ed McGuire.“It’s just the process of it, man,” James said Wednesday, when asked if he has given Tuipulotu any advice. “The team loves him. We love Tuli. I knew the team loved me, too, when I had the same (or a) similar situation. Sometimes that stuff takes longer to iron out. But everyone knows we love Tuli here. I’m pretty sure they love him up there, too.”James gestured to the upper floors of the facility.“He loves the team,” James continued. “So it’ll get worked out. It’ll work itself out. Mine got worked out. I was confident in it. I can’t wait to have him out there. It’s just part of the business, man.”Do Chargers have NFL's best collection of stars on rookie contracts?Derrik KlassenAs with any negotiation, both sides have opinions about where Tuipulotu ranks in the hierarchy of the edge rusher market. The challenging component is that Tuipulotu only has one year of elite production, with his 13 sacks and 17.9 percent pressure rate in 2025. Over his first two NFL seasons, Tuipulotu had 12.5 total sacks and an 11.4 percent pressure rate, according to TruMedia. He was a very good run defender and a solid rusher. In 2025, he turned into an upper-echelon all-around player.Teams want to pay for future production. So do the Chargers pay Tuipulotu based on his one season, assuming he will remain that player over the length of the contract? How should they factor in his performance in Year 1 and 2? Tuipulotu does not turn 24 until September. Akheem Mesidor, the Chargers’ first-round rookie edge rusher, turned 25 in April.The cleanest comparison could be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen, who had a career season in 2023, finishing with 17.5 sacks and an 18.3 percent pressure rate, according to TruMedia. It was by far the best year of his career. That offseason, Hines-Allen signed for $28.25 million in average annual value, according to Over the Cap.Markets change over time, though. That was two years ago. Strictly factoring in inflation, Tuipulotu should be above that Hines-Allen mark in AAV. There are also newer deals. In free agency this year, Jaelen Phillips signed for $30 million in AAV with the Panthers. In 2025, Phillips ranked fourth in pressure rate among players with 300 pass rush snaps at 18.8 percent, according to TruMedia. At the same time, Phillips only finished with five sacks and has battled multiple significant injuries in his career.The next step up in the market from Phillips is Nick Bosa at $34 million in AAV, according to Over the Cap. Bosa had 15.5 sacks in 2021 and 18.5 sacks in 2022 before signing his extension. When you get into this range of contracts — with rushers like Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett and Danielle Hunter — you are talking about players who have strung together multiple years of elite production.So where is the middle ground? The likeliest result is that a deal ends up somewhere between the Phillips contract and the Bosa contract. A deal between $32 million and $34 million in AAV makes sense for both sides.The better question: When will they find that middle ground?Now comes the waiting game.
