Los Angeles moved quickly to add another wide receiver in the wake of the Mike Williams injury.
Hours after the team reported that Williams tore his ACL during Sunday’s game against the Vikings, ending his season, reports surfaced that the Chargers would be adding former Stanford receiver Simi Fehoko from Pittsburgh’s practice squad as his replacement.
Fehoko confirmed the rumors in a video posted to his personal Instagram on Monday night.
On Tuesday, the Chargers officially announced the signing of Fehoko. In correspondence, Williams was placed on the injured reserve list.
Fehoko originally entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 2021 and spent his first two seasons playing for Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in Dallas. After Moore left for Los Angeles this offseason, Fehoko slipped down the depth chart and was released by the Cowboys during final roster cuts and joined the Steelers practice squad, where he spent the first three weeks of the season.
The 25-year-old receiver has three catches for 24 yards in his pro career after racking up 62 receptions for 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns in three seasons in Palo Alto, CA at Stanford. At nearly 6’4” and 220 lbs, Fehoko ran a 4.44 40-yard dash and finished with a 9.17 RAS, signifying that he’s one of the better athletes at the position.
Fehoko is also the cousin of former Chargers defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko, who he joined on the Steelers this season.
Fehoko was used as both a downfield stretcher and screen player in college, making him a good fit for the role Williams is vacating. But it’s more likely that rookie first-round pick Quentin Johnston will take the bulk of those snaps, with Fehoko stepping in as WR5 as Joshua Palmer, Johnston, and Derius Davis all move up one position on the depth chart. Once Jalen Guyton returns from the PUP list as he recovers from a torn ACL of his own, the Chargers will likely carry six wide receivers.