This play proved Tony Jefferson still has it while on the chopping block

Entering his 11th NFL season and even after getting out of football for a bit, Los Angeles Chargers safety and Oklahoma Sooners great Tony Jefferson still hasn't lost a step.

Thursday night during the Chargers' first preseason game against the Detroit Lions, Jefferson pulled off an incredible interception in the end zone that showed why the Chargers should keep him around despite being on the chopping block.

Watch Tony Jefferson's acrobatic interception

And an up-close, slow-motion angle.

"Just playing middle of the field, and I think the best middle-of-the-field players are guys who are instinctive and can kind of see what's going to happen before it happens," Jefferson said. "I just broke on it, reading the quarterback, using my instincts, then had to make a play on the ball in the air."

Most of the time, an 11-year veteran wouldn't even be playing in the first preseason game of the year, but Jefferson is fighting for a roster spot right now. The Chargers cut him multiple times last year before he finally stuck late in the season and contributed 27 tackles in eight games with four starts.

That production prompted the Chargers to sign Jefferson to a one-year deal for 2025, but then they drafted another safety, R.J. Mickens, in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Mickens entering the picture put the pressure on Jefferson for this preseason.

Jefferson should be used to uphill battles during his long NFL career, though. He went undrafted in 2013 after a successful college career with the Sooners. He's bounced around between six different teams since.

It looked like Jefferson's playing days were over in 2023 when he joined the Baltimore Ravens as a scouting intern. That lasted just a season, though, before he joined the Chargers.

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