Stephen Cooper is a career quality starter — a linebacker whose body of work places Cooper in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Cooper's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Stephen Cooper
Top 24% all-time linebackersHigh-End Starter
A quality linebacker with a top 30% among starters — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 53 · #1973 · Above AverageWorth 53 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 43% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +13.3 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
4 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+13.3
Avg surplus
peak +20
4 seasons × ~13.3 surplus ≈ VORP 53
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.
1 grid split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 2003 | — | LAC | 6 | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | — | LAC | 12 | — | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | — | LAC | 10 | — | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | — | LAC | 15 | — | 35 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | — | LAC | 16 | — | 89 | 54 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | — | LAC | 12 | — | 73 | 47 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | — | LAC | 14 | — | 68 | 37 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | — | LAC | 11 | — | 31 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | — | LAC | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 97 | — | 351 | 211 | 140 | 5 | 9 | 9.5 | 23.5 | 8 | 31 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 24 | LAC | 6 | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| 2004 | 25 | LAC | 12 | — | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 |
| 2005 | 26 | LAC | 10 | — | 24 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4.1 |
| 2006 | 27 | LAC | 15 | — | 35 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| 2007 | 28 | LAC | 16 | — | 89 | 54 | 35 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11.4 |
| 2008 | 29 | LAC | 12 | — | 73 | 47 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 4 | 6 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8.6 |
| 2009 | 30 | LAC | 14 | — | 68 | 37 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 |
| 2010 | 31 | LAC | 11 | — | 31 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 6.4 |
| 2011 | 32 | LAC | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | 97 | 351 | 211 | 140 | 5 | 9 | — | — | 8 | 31 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 52.5 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 57 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 57 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
52
Sustained
career value
×.6
64
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 56.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 57· confidence 97%
What builds the career mark of 52
On-field 36.2
Availability 15.8
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
2003bestavg 492010
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position5
Depth
of 100
Reached 5% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
5% of the all-time Sacks leader5
0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0
A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 90%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
8 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl43Solo24Ast19TFL1QBHits2Sk0.5Dis3.5PD1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Maine), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.
Reference Graph
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Antonio GatesTE9yQuentin JammerCB9yJacques CesaireDE9yPhilip RiversQB8yMike ScifresP8yShaun PhillipsOLB8yLaDainian TomlinsonRB7yVincent JacksonWR7yJamal WilliamsNT7yMalcom FloydWR7yLuis CastilloDE7yClinton HartS6ySteve GregoryS6yShawne MerrimanDE6yEric WeddleFS5yLorenzo NealFB5yDarren SprolesRB5yDrayton FlorenceCB5yIgor OlshanskyDT5yMatt WilhelmLB5yBilly VolekQB5yKassim OsgoodWR5yMarques HarrisLB5yDonnie EdwardsOLB4y
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterStephen inherited the Los Angeles Chargers LB room from Donnie Edwards (2002–2006), and handed it to Steve Foley (2004–2005).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2011final season
Last recorded season with LAC
- 2003signing
Entered the NFL with LAC
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'1" / 235 lb
Frame
Injury History
1 career game missed (Out)From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.
| Season | Team | Games Out | Designations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | SD | 1 | W2Doubtful· KneeW3Questionable· KneeW13Questionable· KneeW16Out· Knee |
| 2009 | SD | 0 | W6Questionable· Knee |
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →
Historical Knox · KV-H
Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 8-season peers. See all →
57
peak 64
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
F2003
C2004
C2005
C2006
B2007
B2008
B2009
C2010
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
71%
Era Translator
Tackles translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.
| Season | Actual Tackles | Tackles/G | → 2025 Tackles | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 6 | 1 | 0-6 | 0 |
| 2004 | 24 | 2 | 6-18 | 0.4 |
| 2005 | 24 | 2.4 | 16-8 | 1 |
| 2006 | 35 | 2.3 | 15-20 | 0.9 |
| 2007 | 89 | 5.6 | 87-2 | 5.1 |
| 2008 | 73 | 6.1 | 98+25 | 5.8 |
| 2009 | 68 | 4.9 | 72+4 | 4.3 |
| 2010 | 31 | 2.8 | 36+5 | 2.1 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026
Career Value · VORP
53 career value over replacement — #1973 all-time of 4,642. 6.6/season above a replacement-level LB.
Fan Rating
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