The Chargers released strong safety Kevin Ellison. "Somewhat," Ellison said when asked if he expected the move. "You never really know. ... It's been an interesting couple of weeks." His early release signaled that not only was he going to lose his starting job, but he was not wanted even for depth. "After the minicamp and our offseason program we felt we were going to go another direction at this time," general manager A.J. Smith said. "Letting Kevin go now gives him an excellent chance to get with a team before training camp gets underway."