Player
Denzel Perryman
LB · Chargers
Denzel Perryman: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
11 seasons, 5 teams, 471 tackles — the journeyman-stacker resume, anchored by a Pro Bowl 2021.
TrendPerryman by season (regular season)
| Season | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | LAC | 57 | 8 | 2.0 |
| 2016 | LAC | 53 | 8 | 2.0 |
| 2017 | LAC | 22 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 2018 | LAC | 25 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 2019 | LAC | 45 | 5 | 0.0 |
| 2020 | LAC | 24 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | LV | 98 | 5 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | LV | 48 | 14 | 1.0 |
| 2023 | HOU | 40 | 7 | 0.5 |
| 2024 | LAC | 30 | 2 | 1.0 |
| 2025 | LAC | 29 | 4 | 0.0 |
Perryman's career has two distinct phases: 6 years with the Chargers (2015-20), the journeyman stretch (LV 2021-22 → HOU 2023), and the return to LAC (2024-25). The 2021 Raiders breakout — 98 tackles, Pro Bowl — was the volume peak.
He was a 2015 second-round pick (#48 overall) out of Miami and has hung on for 11 seasons as a thumper-style MLB even as the position got smaller, faster, and more passing-down.
Tackles per season
| Season | Tackles |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 57 |
| 2016 | 53 |
| 2017 | 22 |
| 2018 | 25 |
| 2019 | 45 |
| 2020 | 24 |
| 2021 | 98 |
| 2022 | 48 |
| 2023 | 40 |
| 2024 | 30 |
| 2025 | 29 |
98 tackles in 2021 — his Pro Bowl year and the only triple-digit campaign of his career.
MilestoneThe 2021 Raiders season was the high-water mark: 98 tackles (a career-high by 25 over any other year), 5 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 FF, 2 FR — and a Pro Bowl nod. Las Vegas reached the playoffs that year (10-7), and Perryman was the green-dot leader of the defense.
Even without it, his career line — 471 tackles across 11 seasons — averages out to a ~43-tackle-per-season journeyman LB. With it, his 2021 single season accounted for 21% of his entire career tackle total.
2022 Raiders: 14 TFLs on 48 tackles — his single best disruption-rate season.
SplitPerryman TFL rate by year
| Season | Tackles | TFL | TFL % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 57 | 8 | 14.0% |
| 2016 | 53 | 8 | 15.1% |
| 2021 | 98 | 5 | 5.1% |
| 2022 | 48 | 14 | 29.2% |
| 2023 | 40 | 7 | 17.5% |
The 2022 season was Perryman's most disruptive year: he made fewer tackles than 2021 (48 vs 98), but 29% of them came at or behind the line (14 TFLs). That's a remarkable rate for an off-ball LB — he was being blitzed and run-fitted into the backfield more aggressively under Patrick Graham.
The 2021 Pro Bowl year was a volume-on-cleanup year (5 TFL on 98 tackles, 5.1%), the inverse profile.
58 career TFLs and 21 QB hits — the rare downhill LB who still cracks plays in 2026.
RarePerryman's career line — 471 tackles, 58 TFL, 7.5 sacks, 21 QB hits, 4 FF, 3 FR — is a complete inside-LB profile, heavier on disruption than coverage. Most second-round 2015 LBs are out of the league; Perryman has stayed because of run-fit, durability (relatively — he's missed time but never a full year), and locker-room value.
The 2025 return to LAC is a fitting bookend: he started his career as a Charger and is closing it as one (with the journeyman miles in between).
5 teams across 11 seasons — LAC twice, LV, HOU, and LAC again. Almost every CA/AFC West stop.
ComparisonPerryman's stops: LAC (2015-20) → LV (2021-22) → HOU (2023) → LAC (2024-25). Four franchises, two LAC stints — every AFC West team except the Chiefs and Broncos has carried him at some point.
For a player who was a second-round pick in 2015, the longevity is the unusual part. From that draft's LB cohort, he's the only one still actively playing meaningful snaps in 2025-26.
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