Derwin James on Philip Rivers’ legacy with the Chargers

Derwin James may have only played two years with Philip Rivers with the Los Angeles Chargers, but he certainly had a huge impact on the star strong safety.

Strong safety Derwin James is coming off his second season in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers. The former Florida State Seminoles standout has been one of the best defensive backs in football since his arrival in Los Angeles in 2018. However, it will be a new era of Chargers football in 2020, as the team will be without its long-time franchise quarterback Philip Rivers.

James spoke with FanSided‘s Mark Carman on behalf of Old Spice during the lead-up to Super Bowl 54 down in Miami. Though he was only teammates with Rivers for two years, you cannot overstate the impact Rivers had on James in the early part of his NFL career.

“Yeah, that’s a tough guy to replace,” said James. “You know, I can’t really say that we can replace Philip Rivers, but just having a guy like that in the locker room. I know he’s kind of old enough to be my dad, but he’s been nothing but a big brother to me, somebody I can lean on. Just having him around, I’m going to really miss him a lot.”

James added that Rivers was the type of guy who would say, “I’m here for you” and really mean it. He was a guy that James said was “type of guy who’d go to war with”. In his opinion, Rivers is a sure-fire Pro Football Hall of Famer, an incredible teammate and one who challenged him every single day to get better in practice.

Rivers was an institution with the Chargers for the better part of two decades, but for the first time since he was playing college football with the 2003 North Carolina State Wolfpack, Rivers will not be a part of the Chargers organization. It’s impossible to replace a legend like Rivers, but it’s something James and the rest of the Chargers have to do going forward.

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Derwin James spoke with FanSided on behalf of Old Spice.