The San Diego Chargers released the following 23 players Saturday to reach the NFL’s mandatory 53-man roster limit: 

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College 

• Ajirotutu, Seyi WR 6-3 211 23 R Fresno State
• Bond, Brady T 6-6 300 24 R Oklahoma State 
• Brinkley, Curtis RB 5-9 208 24 1 Syracuse 
• Brockel, Richie FB 6-1 251 24 R Boise State 
• Crompton, Jonathan QB 6-3 222 23 R Tennessee 
• Epps, Dedrick TE 6-4 246 22 R Miami (Fla.) 
• Goodman, Richard WR 6-0 192 23 R Florida State 
• Hansen, Jeff C-G 6-4 301 23 R Montana State 
• Jones, Derrick DE 6-4 315 25 1 Grand Valley State 
• Latsko, Billy FB 5-10 233 26 1 Florida 
• McDonald, Ryan C 6-4 293 25 1 Illinois 
• McNeal, Shawnbrey RB 5-9 190 21 R Southern Methodist 
• Nixon, Mike LB 6-3 232 27 R Arizona State 
• Novak, Nick K 6-0 198 29 4 Maryland 
• Pakulak, Glenn P 6-3 220 30 2 Kentucky 
• Reed, Josh WR 5-10 210 30 9 Louisiana State 
• Richmond, Nick T 6-8 309 23 R Texas 
• Christian Simmons, Traye CB 5-9 180 23 R Minnesota 
• Stephenson, Cam G 6-3 326 27 1 Rutgers 
• Teal, Quinton SS 6-0 205 26 4 Coastal Carolina 
• Vasher, Nathan CB 5-11 185 28 7 Texas 
• Williams, Jeremy WR 6-0 203 23 R Tulane 
• Wilson, Kion LB 6-0 240 23 R South Florida

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Crayton, a 6-foot, 205-pound receiver, is in his seventh NFL season.

Crayton has averaged 41 catches for 596 yards and five touchdowns since ’06. He has 196 career receptions for 2,888 yards and 23 touchdowns since Dallas drafted him in the seventh round out of Northwestern Oklahoma State in 2004.

The Chargers have claimed cornerback Fred Bennett off waivers from the Houston Texans.

A 6-1, 200-pound fourth-year player out of South Carolina, Bennett played in 10 games and made three starts for the Texans at cornerback in 2009. He finished the year with 15 defensive tackles and three on special teams.

A fourth-round pick of the Texans (123rd overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft, Bennett made an immediate impression, leading the team with three interceptions. He added two more in 2008. Bennett’s career totals include 40 games played, 17 starts, 111 tackles, five picks, 24 passes defensed and four forced fumbles. He also has 12 career special teams stops.

Bennett was a two-time All-SEC choice at South Carolina and a three-year starter for the Gamecocks. He intercepted nine passes and broke up 24 as a collegian, while playing both corner and safety.

He is a 26-year-old native of Manning, S.C. (Manning High School).

To make room on the roster for Bennett, the Chargers have released defensive end-tackle Ryon Bingham.

The Chargers made several moves today in order to reach the NFL’s 75-man roster limit.

The team waived running back Marcus Mason, wide receiver Gary Banks, guard Lee Grimes and linebacker Darry Beckwith. In addition, linebacker Donald Butler, a third-round draft choice in April from the University of Washington, was placed on the “Reserve-Injured” list due to an Achilles injury.

The Chargers also signed punter Glenn Pakulak, who played in 10 games with the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins during the 2008 and ’09 seasons. Pakulak punted in two games for Washington in 2009.

Pakulak, who has averaged 44.4 yards per punt during his brief NFL career, earned the Mosi Tatupu Award given to the nation’s best special teams player as a senior at the University ofKentucky. He averaged 45.6 yards per punt and ranked third in the nation during the 2002 season.

The gift continues the Spanos’ family commitment to the San Diego community. A commitment recognized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ San Diego Chapter in July which named the San Diego Chargers the Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation for its upcoming National Philanthropy Day. For the eleventh year in a row, this contribution through the team’s Chargers Champions program ranks as the largest privately-funded education gift in San Diego County. Chargers Champions makes a strong commitment to improving physical fitness in San Diego County schools by providing grants for new facilities and equipment.

“Schools throughout California need our support,” Spanos said. “The main goal of our program is to provide students with the necessary means to living a healthy lifestyle through physical fitness.”

Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Spanos family has donated more than $4 million to San Diego’s schools and students through Chargers Champions.

“There is absolutely no way in the world any of these schools would have seen a fraction of this kind of money for fitness projects in the current budget climate,” said Jim Esterbooks from the County of Education Office. “We are incredibly lucky to have a community partner like the Chargers.”

The educational grants ranged in amounts from a $55,000 grant to Escondido High School to a $14,000 grant given to Alcott Elementary School.

Nine San Diego-area schools received grants to improve physical fitness, athletic or nutrition programs on school campuses.

$55,000….Escondido High School, Escondido: Weight room equipment
$30,000….Carlton Oaks Elementary, Santee: Outdoor fitness structure
$30,000….Highlands Elementary, Spring Valley: Outdoor fitness structure
$29,000….Lindberg-Schweitzer, San Diego: Sixteen spinners
$28,000….Howard Pence, South Bay: Flooring/installation for new fitness structure
$21,000….San Pasqual Academy, North San Diego County: Athletic equipment
$20,000….Hoover High School, San Diego: Fitness equipment
$20,000….Julian Middle School, Julian: Climbing wall
$14,000….Alcott Elementary, San Diego: Fitness activity room

This year’s Chargers Champions’ recipients will be honored on the field during the Chargers-Raiders game on Sunday, December 5, at Qualcomm Stadium.

Funds allocated to Chargers Champions are administered through the Chargers Community Foundation, the San Diego Chargers’ charitable foundation. The Foundation was established in 1995 by Dean and Alex Spanos to “help” San Diego build on its strengths by supporting individuals, activities and organizations that work to make the city a better place to live.

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SAN DIEGO – For the first time in its history, the California Lottery is teaming up with the San Diego Chargers to put out a fantastic new Scratchers ticket that gives players a chance to win unique prizes like season tickets, luxury suites and tailgate parties, while also giving them the opportunity to take away instant cash.

The new Chargers Scratchers ticket combines the action and the thrills of professional football with the excitement of the Lottery. It is a joint marketing arrangement designed to appeal to football fans and Lottery players.
“This partnership brings two organizations with a great track record of achieving a common goal: entertaining their fans,” said Lottery Director Joan Borucki at a news conference this afternoon at the Chargers’ training facility. “It also gives fans of pro football and the Lottery another reason to get excited about the upcoming season.”

Here’s how the ticket works – players scratch off the 12 helmets on the ticket, which features the Chargers logo and a picture of Qualcomm Stadium, to see if they have won cash prizes of up to $20,000.

But if you don’t win the first time around, there is nothing to worry about. All of these tickets can be entered on the Lottery’s Replay Program, which gives players a second opportunity to win. Prizes in this program are aimed at making the dreams of football fans come true. They include:

• Season tickets for the 2011 season; 
• Trips to the Chargers’ 2011 training camp; 
• VIP road trips; 
• Tailgate parties; and 
• Jerseys, helmets and footballs signed by current players. 

At the same time this partnership provides excitement and entertainment for Lottery fans, it also helps support our schools.

The football ticket is just one of many exciting changes at the Lottery, which is changing its games to create more winners, more prizes and more money for education. In addition, the Lottery is improving its business practices to make it more efficient. All of this is happening in the same year that the Lottery is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The Replay promotion begins on September 3, 2010 at 8 a.m. and continues through November 28, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Players that purchase a San Diego Chargers Scratchers ticket can enter non-winning ticket numbers at www.calottery.com/replay for a chance to win one or more of the prize packages listed above. Each non-winning ticket can only be entered once and is eligible for each draw category. When a player enters a Pro Football Scratchers ticket code, that specific code is only eligible for the team prizes associated with that ticket. No mail-in entries will be accepted.

The California Lottery is celebrating 25 years of enhancing education and supporting local communities. More than 94 cents of every dollar spent by our players goes to public schools and colleges, prizes and retail commissions. Since 2000, Lottery players have contributed $1 billion to public schools each year, and, since we began in 1985, Lottery players have contributed more than $22 billion to education. That includes more than $1.7 billion to schools in San Diego County.

Thomas announced his retirement last week.

Grimes, an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M, earned second-team All Big-12 honors at right tackle as a senior in ’09. He started 23 games during his final two seasons and played mostly guard as a junior.

Grimes, 6-6, 309 pounds, was signed as a rookie free agent by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year and was released during training camp.