COSTA MESA, Calif. — The next time Eric Kendricks steps outside of his house in December, he won’t be greeted with snow on the ground. He’ll have his days of seeing blades of grass shining under the California sun — because the Los Angeles Chargers brought back the Golden State native.
After seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Kendricks will only see snow in the San Gabriel Mountains. And when asked by Pro Football Network during his post-practice media session Saturday if the Fresno native and UCLA standout is more rejuvenated than ever in his Golden State return, he let it be known that California has made “a huge part of me” reinvigorated.
“I’ve been just telling my wife I’ve been having so much fun smiling in the California sunshine,” Kendricks said. “It’s crazy how everything works out. I really feel blessed.”
He gets to now bless the Chargers with refreshing the interior of their linebacker unit — which has been plagued by injuries and a void that needs to be filled.
Eric Kendricks Discusses Embracing the ‘Green Dot’ Role And Adjusting to the Bolts
Kendricks was given two years worth up to $13,250,000 to reignite the LB unit that has to replace leading tackler Drue Tranquill, who delivered 146 tackles only to wind up with the rival Kansas City Chiefs.
But Kendricks is doing more than just replacing Tranquill. He’s having to wear the green dot…meaning in his first season with the Chargers, he gets to receive the defensive signals and relay them to his new teammates.
And Kendricks is expected to fire away the signals once head coach Brandon Staley voice messages them into his helmet radio. Have there been struggles with picking up Staley’s play calls for Kendricks?
“It’s getting better,” Kendricks told reporters regarding his relationship between being a green dot defender and Staley as the play-caller. “But game planning for different teams is also another adjustment we’re going to have to make. But so far, it’s been great. I’ve been getting the calls out quick, and we’ve been lining up and playing football.”
Then, there’s building cohesion with teammates Kendricks has never suited up with before. Camp season has helped ease the transition.
“It’s been fun. It’s been fun to get to know the guys. Obviously, I’m getting a deeper understanding of the defense this go around. Got familiar with it in the spring a little bit. But it’s been better for me this camp. So I’m excited to keep learning,” Kendricks said.
Kendricks Dives Into 2 More Relationships
There’s one more role on Kendrick’s side in his L.A. campaign, witnessing a full plate: Showing the way for two younger ‘backers in the same room with him in Kenneth Murray and Daiyan Henley.
Regarding “K9,” turns out Kendricks got an early jump on that relationship — via Instagram. Kendricks shared how he and Murray followed each other because of one common interest: Their love of cars.
“We were Instagram friends because of cars and not necessarily linebacker. Now we’re teammates and cars connoisseurs,” Kendricks said.
But on a defense already filled with an abundance of talent from Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Derwin James, J.C. Jackson, and Super Bowl champ Sebastian Joseph-Day, Kendricks has found himself spending more time with the 2020 first-rounder Murray.
“Me and K9 (Kenneth Murray) have been working really good together. It’s been really good playing with him, and we’re able to feed off of each other,” Kendricks said. “And we’re going to continue to get better with our non-verbal communication throughout camp.”
Murray’s career has been on the ebb-and-flow side, with him not yet playing a full 17-game slate in his career. He additionally hasn’t reached past the 80-tackle mark since his stellar rookie debut. Kendricks, however, described Murray as a different breed of linebacker.
“I’ve never seen a linebacker that’s built like him and capable of doing the things he can do behind the ball and also in pass rush. He’s very versatile,” Kendricks said. “He can cover receivers one-to-one. He’s got that speed to go down the field with them. He’s a really good player, and he’s very smart. And I think that going forward, him being 24 and having a couple of years under his belt, those years matter. He’s seen a lot of football now, and he recognizes things just like how I recognized them.”
In regards to Henley, who comes over via Washington State but is an L.A. native, Kendricks has seen some early mental lapses from the third-rounder. But he’s been most impressed with his reaction to those moments.
“You know he’s still a rookie at the end of the day. He’s still got some rookie things going on. But he’s really smart,” Kendricks said. “And at the end of the day, he’s got a great attitude, and he has a motor.”
Has Kendricks Grown Since His Vikings Days?
As snow piled outside of U.S. Bank Stadium, Kendricks piled the tackles.
He’s only had one season when he failed to reach past the 100-tackle mark, which was his rookie year. But Kendricks additionally admits that from Year 3 to Year 6, he’s had a lot of epiphany moments about why things go the way they do on the field. And now, he’s turned those “oh” moments into becoming more cerebral.
“Now when I see splits and things like that, it just triggers, and you know the draw down and distances. If it’s third and one, you know you’re looking for personnel. All that kind of stuff is kind of second thought when you’re coming out of college,” Kendricks said.
There’s still a learning aspect he’s enduring with the Chargers. But he credits Staley and the coaching staff for getting him up to speed while adding that he has familiarity with the run fits of Staley’s defense, including how they line up.
“The whole learning the terminology, the switching over, is a little different. But I feel they’ve been really good at explaining why we do things and having the reasons for them. When you have a reason why we do stuff, and you pair them together, you can understand better,” Kendricks said. “I’m always learning.”
He’s back under the California sun. He gets to help lead this Chargers’ defense into 2023 in his return out west. And with the sun in his home state beaming down on him once again, Kendricks is in a rejuvenated state, giving him his inspiration to “bolt up” for the Bolts.
