SAN DIEGO -- Donnie Edwards knows he's one of the lucky ones. He gets to play for his hometown NFL team.

Edwards, an unrestricted free agent, signed a $19 million, five-year contract Wednesday, giving the San Diego Chargers their second homegrown linebacker. He'll play opposite Junior Seau, who grew up in Oceanside, north of San Diego, and was the Chargers' first-round draft pick in 1990.

Edwards, who's from Chula Vista -- south of San Diego -- gets a signing bonus of between $6 million and $6.5 million, and the deal has an option year.

Edwards spent his first six NFL seasons with AFC West rival Kansas City. Released by the Chiefs in a salary cap move last month, he's reunited with new Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer, who was his coach for his first three seasons in Kansas City.

"I'm totally excited to come back home and to represent my home team," Edwards said Wednesday. Edwards agreed to the deal on Saturday but had been in Kansas City taking care of personal matters.

"Being a kid, you always think about playing for your home team," Edwards said. "A lot of times, in reality, it doesn't happen. Your career's short, it depends on what they need, if they need a linebacker or don't, the money. There's a whole bunch of different intangibles that go into play. Just having the opportunity to come back and having a guy like Marty Schottenheimer as coach, I'm just glad that I'm able to be a part of it here in San Diego."

Edwards said he considered St. Louis, but is glad he stayed in the AFC West.

"I know the teams really well. I know one team really well, that I can't wait to play," he said. The Chargers, trying to dig out from under 26 losses in their last 32 games, play their first of two games against Kansas City on Oct. 13, in San Diego.

"An outside linebacker wasn't a priority for that team," Edwards said. "Someone else got a great addition."

Edwards will play on the strong side, opposite Seau.

"He's a lot like me," Edwards said. "He plays with high intensity, emotion, and the guy shows up week after week. That's the way I play this game, too. I think having both of us out there on defense is going to be exciting. You're going to see a lot of plays."

Edwards led the Chiefs with 147 tackles last year, his fourth straight season with more than 100 tackles.

Also Wednesday, the Chargers signed 19 rookie free agents. They include first-team All-Big Ten running back Levron Williams and center-guard Craig Osika, both of whom played at Indiana for Cam Cameron, who's now the Chargers' offensive coordinator.

The Chargers also signed tight end Josh Norman, a starter for Oklahoma's national championship team two seasons ago.