EL SEGUNDO — Tuli Tuipulotu arrived at the Chargers’ temporary headquarters in Costa Mesa in the spring of 2023 as a second-round draft pick from USC, a quiet, respectful, 20-year-old outside linebacker with a great deal to learn and a great deal to offer. He was willing to be seen and not heard.
He addressed Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa as “sir,” and the Chargers loved that about him. He was an instant hit during spring practices and training camp, content to play the role of a rookie. He played 17 games in the 2023 season, starting 11 in the absence of an injured Bosa, now with the Buffalo Bills.
Tuipulotu had 4½ sacks among his 53 total tackles during a tumultuous season that featured the firing of Brandon Staley as coach and Tom Telesco as general manager as the team spiraled to a 5-12 record and then hit the reset button in a major way during the offseason.
Through it all, through the offseason hiring of Jim Harbaugh as coach, Jesse Minter as defensive coordinator and Joe Hortiz as GM, through a change of address to the Chargers’ sparkling new headquarters in El Segundo, Tuipulotu continued to grow and mature.
Tuipulotu let his play speak for itself, his off-the-field workouts and preparation, especially, impressing his teammates and the new administration. But a strange thing began to happen as he became old enough to enter an establishment and legally purchase an adult beverage. He began to speak up.
Mack, a nine-time Pro Bowl pick, encouraged him to say what needed to be said in meetings with their fellow outside linebackers, in larger group settings with the defense and the entire roster and on the sidelines and in the huddles. Tuipulotu, now 23, is grateful for the mentorship from Mack, 34.
“Ever since I got here, he’s been a great big brother, a great role model for me,” Tuipulotu said earlier this week, after recording two sacks in the Chargers’ victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. “Everything that happens, a lot of it is because of him. I’m grateful for him.”
Tuipulotu went from 4½ sacks as a rookie to 8½ last season to 10 with five games still to be played this season. The passing of the torch among the Chargers’ top pass rushers has been quick and steady with Tuipulotu eagerly taking on a new role as a vocal leader of the defense.
He’s become a boisterous ringleader for locker room cornhole games, as well.
“He just continues to ascend,” Minter said. “He spoke to the defense the night before (playing against the Raiders) about the mentality we needed to take into the game, and when you speak to that and then you go out and play the way he played, that’s pretty cool. That earns a lot of respect.
“Just love Tuli and super-proud of how he’s been playing.”
Defense was the key to the Chargers’ 31-14 victory over the Raiders last weekend, and Tuipulotu was at the center of it all. He lined up on the edge in a typical position for an outside linebacker, but also moved inside like a defensive tackle, and he was equally effective from both spots.
Four of Tuipulotu’s six tackles went for lost yardage against the Raiders, including his two sacks of Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith. After a sluggish first half coming off their bye week, Tuipulotu and the Chargers’ defense tormented the Raiders’ offense, holding Las Vegas to 156 total net yards.
Through 12 games this season, Tuipulotu leads the Chargers (8-4) with 16 tackles for lost yardage among his 33 overall. He’s sixth among his teammates in tackles, not quite on pace to reach his career-best of 53 set during his rookie season, but he could top last season’s total of 42.
The Chargers will need all they can get from Tuipulotu as they navigate a five-game stretch run that begins with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night at SoFi and continues with games against the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos.
After all, he is now one of the Chargers’ leaders on the field and off of it, too.
Tuipulotu is heard as well as seen in his third season in the NFL.
“It’s been a blessing to be able to see his journey,” Mack said. “He’s always been capable of doing the same stuff since Year 1, when I first met him. So, to see him stepping up in his own right and seeing everybody else seeing what I’ve always seen, that’s a true blessing to see. It’s great to be a part of.”
HERBERT UPDATE
The Chargers listed quarterback Justin Herbert as a limited participant in practice for the second day in a row after he underwent surgery on his left, non-throwing hand on Monday. Harbaugh said Herbert was “better Thursday than he was Wednesday and better Friday than he was Thursday.”