Category: Latest Chargers news

Chargers sign CB KeiVarae Russell to practice squad

The Chargers made an acquisition on Tuesday.

After signing linebacker Malik Jefferson to the practice squad on Monday, the Chargers added another player a day later.

Los Angeles signed cornerback KeiVarae Russell after hosting him for a workout on Tuesday, according to Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson.

Russell takes CB Tevaughn Campbell’s spot on the practice squad after he was called up to the active roster yesterday.

Russell was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs out of Notre Dame. He spent the past three season with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he amassed 22 tackles, two passes defensed and an interception in 20 career games.

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Report: Chargers release WR Dontrelle Inman off IR, goes unclaimed

Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman, who was released off injured reserve on Monday, cleared waivers on Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Chargers released wide receiver Dontrelle Inman off injured reserve on Monday, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Inman entered waivers, where teams could claim him. But no one did, which means that he will enter free agency, where he can sign with any NFL team.

Inman went on the IR after sustaining a quad injury in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins — it marked his biggest game this season as he caught five passes for 76 yards. In his four games played, he posted eight receptions for 132 yards.

The Chargers signed Inman prior to the 2019 regular season to shore up a thin wide receiver group, but he wasn’t able to stay healthy after starting to breakout.

But when he appeared to be ready to go after six weeks of being on the injured reserve, the team was already confident with what they have and elected to go their separate ways.

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Drawing up scenario where Chargers make playoffs

It’s a bit of a long shot, but the Chargers could still make the playoffs. We take a look at a scenario.

Playoffs? Yes, we are talking about the Chargers’ playoff chances.

Just three weeks ago, you could’ve said that Los Angeles was in the clear running for a playoff spot. But after two crucial losses to divisional opponents, their chances are nearly nonexistent.

L.A. is not mathematically eliminated, which means they could still play in January. According to ESPN’s NFL Football Power Index, the Chargers have a 0.4% chance to reach the postseason.

At the moment, the Bolts are three games behind the 7-4 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, and they’re only two games back from the 6-5 Pittsburgh Steelers for the No. 6 seed.

Los Angeles is no stranger to going on runs and shocking the world. It seems impossible, but plenty of crazy things happen in the NFL, and they possess the talent on both sides of the ball to make it happen, especially knowing they get an extra boost with safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips.

So, how can they continue playing in the month of January? Using ESPN’s Playoff Machine, we ran through a variety of realistic scenarios by predicting each game that involves AFC teams. In this case, the Bolts get the last Wild Card spot.

Note: This involves the Chargers winning their last five games to make this happen.

Here’s how it looks:

Week 13

Bills at Cowboys

Eagles at Dolphins

Browns at Steelers

Raiders at Chiefs

Chargers at Broncos

Titans at Colts

Patriots at Texans

Buccaneers at Jaguars

Week 14

Bengals at Browns

Dolphins at Jets

Ravens at Bills

Chargers at Jaguars

Chiefs at Patriots

Steelers at Cardinals

Broncos at Texans

Titans at Raiders

Colts at Buccaneers

Week 15

Jets at Ravens

Texans at Titans

Browns at Cardinals

Patriots at Bengals

Jaguars at Raiders

Broncos at Chiefs

Vikings at Chargers

Bills at Steelers

Dolphins at Giants

Colts at Saints

Week 16

Texans at Buccaneers

Saints at Titans

Lions at Broncos

Jaguars at Falcons

Bills at Patriots

Raiders at Chargers

Ravens at Browns

Panthers at Colts

Bengals at Dolphins

Chiefs at Bears

Steelers at Jets

Week 17

Dolphins at Patriots

Colts at Jaguars

Steelers at Ravens

Chargers at Chiefs

Jets at Bills

Browns at Bengals

Raiders at Broncos

Titans at Texans

Here’s how the standings would look:

Los Angeles wins tie break over Oakland based on best win percentage in common games.

Here’s how the playoff matchups would look like:

The bottom line is that the Chargers will not only have to run the table, but there is a slew of things that will have to happen in order to clinch a playoff berth.

It’s unfortunate that Los Angeles is in this position after being pegged as a potential Super Bowl contender, but injuries, a coaching change and most importantly, in-game mistakes ultimately cost them.

Coming off a much-needed bye, the Chargers should feel refreshed, physically and mentally and ready to overcome their disappointing losses this season. Their uphill climb all starts this weekend against the Denver Broncos.

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Chargers make pair of roster moves

The Chargers made two roster moves on Monday.

The Los Angeles Chargers made two roster moves on Monday.

The Chargers promoted cornerback Tevaughn Campbell to the active roster. The team also signed linebacker Malik Jefferson to the practice squad, the franchise announced.

The Bolts were in need of filling a roster spot and adding more depth to the cornerback position after Michael Davis was suspended for a violation of the substance abuse policy last week.

Campbell joined the Chargers back in September. This will mark the second time that he’s been called up to the active roster. Prior to signing with L.A., Campbell was with the Jets after four years in the Canadian Football League.

Below is the official team statement:

The Los Angeles Chargers promoted CB Tevaughn Campbell to the active roster, the organization announced on Monday. The Bolts also signed LB Malik Jefferson to the practice squad.

Campbell returns to the active roster for the second time this season. He was originally signed to the Chargers practice squad on Sept. 11, 2019. Jefferson has appeared in 21 games since being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2018 draft. He appeared in 12 games for the Bengals in 2018 and then played in nine games for the Cleveland Browns this season.

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Chargers activate Derwin James off injured reserve

The Chargers got another playmaker back on the defensive side of the ball.

The moment that all Chargers fans have been waiting for finally came as safety Derwin James returned to practice on Monday.

After designating Adrian Phillips to return from the injured reserve on Nov. 14, Los Angeles did the same for James 11 days later.

James has been out since the end of August after suffering a stress fracture in his right foot during training camp. He had surgery immediately after and spent the last three months recovering from it.

The former Florida State product is coming off a phenomenal rookie campaign where he was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection after recording 105 tackles, three interceptions, four tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

The burning question that everyone wants to know is if James will be on the field when the Chargers play the Broncos this weekend. Coach Anthony Lynn made it seem like it’s possible, but Phillips is more likely to play.

“At his position, you’d like to see a change of direction, quickness, burst, things like that. Adrian has a better chance of playing this week [than James],” Lynn said.

James and Phillips will provide a talented defense with an extra boost as they look to shake things up in the final stretch of the season.

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NFL executive weighs in on Chargers’ Philip Rivers’ issues

An NFL executive believes Chargers Philip Rivers’ poor play this season has been plagued by his offensive line.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has made headlines with his poor play this season. After performing at an MVP level in 2017 and 2018, he hasn’t been at the same tier. What’s going on?

You can make a list of reasons why Rivers has thrown the second-most interceptions (14) this season, but the one that will almost always be brought up is the guys blocking for him.

Like many, an NFL executive believes it’s the offensive line that’s causing him to perform like this.

“Rivers struggles when he doesn’t trust his offensive line. It’s pretty clear he hasn’t trusted his line lately,” the league executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando.

The past two games, Rivers has been tasked with playing with two backup tackles — Trey Pipkins and Trent Scott, along with second-year center Scott Quessenberry due to injuries to the team’s starters.

In the Week 10 matchup against the Raiders, Rivers was sacked 5 times and was hit a total of 10 times. In that game, the veteran quarterback looked uncomfortable in the pocket.

A week later, Rivers was only sacked twice in what was a solid performance by the offensive line. But he was playing like he had a swarm of defenders trying to get after him, rushing his throws and resorting to the first receiver he saw.

Rivers has always played behind an average offensive line throughout his career. But when it has been decimated in a single season due to injuries, it has seemed to affect his play. The league executive compared this season to 2016 when Rivers tossed 10 touchdown passes with nine interceptions during the five-game losing streak to end the season.

As we know it, Rivers is not a mobile quarterback. He is a pocket passer who thrives under pressure by using his unorthodox arm motion, yet quick release to hook up with his pass-catchers. But that hasn’t been the case this season, and he’s throwing the ball like he’s seeing ghosts, appearing to be reckless and rushed.

Rivers could have his safety blankets back in starting tackles Russell Okung and Sam Tevi back in the starting lineup this weekend. With them back, seeing if the veteran quarterback flourishes or folds will be one of the biggest headlines in what could possibly be the last five games of Rivers in the blue and gold as he’s set to become a free agent after the season.

“That one will be interesting. I don’t know how excited Rivers would be to stay for less money, if that is what it comes to. Would he play elsewhere and move his family,” an executive said.

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Chargers out to be playoff spoilers

Chargers could shake up the playoff race in their last five games.

The Chargers might not be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but sitting at 4-7, their chances are slim.

Following the Week 11 matchup, coach Anthony Lynn said that his team had no desire to throw the season away even though they’re on the outside looking in.

However, even though Los Angeles may not be among the 12 teams to be playing in January, they could shake things up by affecting the teams that are in the running.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar compiled a list of teams that could be spoilers the rest of the way out and among them is the Chargers.

The Chargers haven’t lost a game by more than a touchdown all season, and they’ve had the usual number of heartbreaking, late-game meltdowns that brought them to their current 4-7 record. In their past two games, losses to the Raiders and Chiefs by a combined nine points, the obvious issue was Philip Rivers’ hurling the ball all over the place, especially in ultimate crunch time. Per Sports Info Solutions, Rivers has four interceptions in the last two minutes of games this season — no other quarterback has more than one except for Dak Prescott, who has two.

The Chargers have an above-average defense, a good group of receivers, and a strong running game with Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler. Their situational awareness has been nightmarish all season, but they have enough in the tank to make things interesting for the Packers, Raiders and Chiefs in the last three weeks of the regular season … if Rivers can get his bearings.

Among the five teams that the Bolts have remaining on their schedule, three of them are in playoff contention — Vikings, Chiefs, Raiders.

Even though the Chargers have been belittled by injuries throughout the course of the season, they showed that they can play with the best of the best, as they have not lost a game by more than a touchdown all season.

But heading into the final stretch, Los Angeles will likely get back two of their best defensive players in safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips and their starting left tackle, Russell Okung.

With just those additions alone and coming off a bye to physically and mentally refresh after a handful of late-game blunders, you could be looking at a potential run by the Bolts.

Who knows, that run may be enough to knock off some team’s playoff hopes, but revive theirs. In the NFL, there are plenty of crazier things that have happened.

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3 Chargers who should make their first Pro Bowl in 2020

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lists three players that could make their first Pro Bowl appearance.

Despite having a 4-7 record, the talent on the Chargers would not suggest that. Loaded on both sides of the ball, Los Angeles had a league-high eight players make the Pro Bowl last year. This year should see some of the same members, but there are a few that are worthy of their first nod.

These three players very well could end up playing in Orlando, FL for the first time with the NFL’s best because of their strong play this season.

TE Hunter Henry

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Surprising enough, Henry has yet to make a Pro Bowl appearance since coming into the league in 2016. But injuries have hampered him throughout the course of it, thus holding him back from making it. But this year is different as Henry sustained an injury early in the season, and has played like he never missed a step.

Henry has caught 39 passes for 487 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 12.5 yards per reception and has caught 72.2% of his targets. He has either racked up 80+ yards or a touchdown in four of his six games back to the lineup. With five games remaining, there’s a good chance that we could see him with close to 55 receptions, 800 yards and two or three more scores.

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3 burning questions during Chargers’ bye week

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out three burning questions in mind during the bye week.

11 regular season games have gone by and the Chargers are sitting with an unexpected 4-7 record after having high expectations entering the year.

With only five games remaining, there are a few questions that not only the fans, but the franchise is wondering during their bye week.

Can Philip Rivers turn things around?

Prior to the regular season, you could have said that Rivers had four or five years left in the tank following his stints in 2017 and 2018 where he played at an elite level. Now, there’s questioning whether or not the veteran quarterback will be around following the 2019 campaign.

Rivers has compiled a head-scratching 15 touchdown to 14 interception ratio through 11 games. His play has been plagued by an unsteady offensive line after a handful of injuries, which has clearly effected him in the pocket. But there’s been signs of decline, including questionable decision-making and regression in arm talent.

Rivers, who will be turning 38 in December, will have these last five games of the regular season to turn his 16th professional campaign around. No matter who’s playing along the offensive line, if he doesn’t improve, there’s reason to believe that the franchise will consider not bringing him back for Year 17.

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Twitter reacts to LaDainian Tomlinson being left off all-time team

It’s mind-boggling that a former Chargers great was left off this list.

The NFL unveiled the 100th anniversary running back all-time team Friday.

Among the crop who was a finalist, but did not make the final team was former Chargers great running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

Other notable finalists that did not make the cut other than Tomlinson include Adrian Peterson, Tony Dorsett, Marshall Faulk, Marcus Allen, Jerome Bettis and Franco Harris.

When you read the list of players, it’s all running backs that you’d think would make the list, but they were all drafted after 1990. Everyone that made it was drafted before that year.

“I’m surprised that there are no 21st century running backs on that list,” said Tomlinson, who started his career in 2001. Emmitt Smith was the (most recent) guy drafted that’s on the list. So that’s a bit surprising,” Tomlinson said.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to Tomlinson being snubbed from the list.

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