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Jamaree Salyer exited the game with an eye injury.
Even Week 18 has not provided a safe harbor for the Chargers.
Starting guard Jamaree Salyer exited the game late in the first quarter with what the team called an eye injury. It’s unclear when the injury occurred, but such a designation suggests that Salyer was likely poked in the eye during a blocking assignment.
Salyer has started every game for the Chargers this season at right guard. He was replaced by Austen Pleasants, who was elevated from the practice squad for the game.
Keenan Allen and Joey Bosa have been ruled out.
The Chargers had their final practice on Friday ahead of the Week 18 game against the Chiefs.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen, edge defender Joey Bosa, EDGE Justin Hollins and defensive tackle Nick Williams have been ruled out.
Allen finishes the season with 108 receptions for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.
Guard Zion Johnson and linebacker Kenneth Murray are doubtful.
Cornerback Deane Leonard, LB Tanner Muse, tight end Stone Smartt and EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu are questionable.
As for the Chiefs, WR Rashee Rice, CB L’Jarius Sneed, WR Kadarius Toney, and offensive tackle Donovan Smith are out.
Keenan Allen has been ruled out.
The Chargers had their final practice on Thursday ahead of the Week 16 game against the Bills.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen (heel) and edge defender Joey Bosa (foot) have been ruled out.
This is the second consecutive week that Allen will miss due to the injury.
Los Angeles opened Bosa’s 21-day activation window.
Cornerback Deane Leonard (heel) and linebacker Tanner Muse (knee) are doubtful.
CB Essang Bassey (concussion), tight end Nick Vannett (back) and defensive tackle Nick Williams (shoulder) are questionable.
As for the Bills, safety Micah Hyde (neck stinger) and WR Justin Shorter (hamstring) are out. CB Kair Elam (ankle), defensive end A.J. Epenesa (rib), running back Ty Johnson (shoulder) and DT DaQuan Johnson (pec) are questionable.
The third-year player suffered a foot injury.
Chargers edge defender Chris Rumph II is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Rumph sustained the injury during warmups before Sunday’s game against the Lions. He was ruled out and was on crutches in the locker room after the game.
Rumph, the third-year player, appeared in six games this season and recorded five tackles and a fumble recovery. Across 37 games, he had 39 tackles, nine quarterback hits, four tackles for loss and three sacks.
With Rumph out, Los Angeles could call up Andrew Farmer or Brevin Allen from the practice squad or just opt to roll with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu.
The Chargers had some injuries to Justin Herbert and Donald Parham in their victory over the Raiders.
The Chargers defeated the Raiders on Sunday, 24-17.
Along the way, Los Angeles had some injuries to quarterback Justin Herbert and tight end Donald Parham.
Starting with Herbert, his left hand got caught on the helmet of a Raiders player when he threw an interception late in the third quarter. A big splint was put on it and he returned to finish the game.
On Monday, it was deemed a fractured finger. The team said Herbert would have played this week if the Chargers had a game, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. They are on a bye, so he should have plenty of time to let it heal 100%.
As for Parham, he left the game with a wrist injury in the second quarter after being targeted in the end zone. He went to the ground and came up, cradling his arm as he went to the sideline.
Brandon Staley had no firm update on Parham, adding that Parham had X-rays on his wrist after the game but did not want to reveal the results when asked. The status is to be determined, according to Popper.
The Chargers had nothing to gain or lose.
The Chargers entered Sunday’s game against the Broncos with the fifth seed already secured, but that didn’t stop Brandon Staley from playing his starters.
Most of them, including Justin Herbert, stayed in the game through three quarters in the loss to Denver. But, along the way, Staley’s decision backfired.
Mike Williams suffered back spasms in the second quarter, resulting in him getting carted off the field. Joey Bosa and Kenneth Murray also got banged up, which forced them to get pulled out of the action.
Even though the seeding was known before the game, Staley had plans of playing the starters regardless.
“We felt like the process that we would take, regardless if (the Ravens) had won or lost, we knew what our plan was going into the game, and I thought we executed it today,” Staley said.
Did it make sense to play the starters to fine-tune some things, maybe? Yes. But for as long as they did? No. The approach should have been to play the backups extensively.
When Staley was asked why the starters played as long as they did, this was his response:
We only get two practice squad elevations for the game, and you have to put a team out there, and you can’t decide when you’re having to play a football game who isn’t going to play and who is going to play and how you’re going to subtract this. You got to go out there and play the football game, because this isn’t the preseason when you have 90 guys to choose from. You only have 48 players to choose from, so you have to go out there and you have to field a football team. And so we did it the best we could. We wanted to play well in the game, and then we wanted to be safe for next week. And that’s what we did.
Staley added that other teams took the same approach by playing most of their starters for a large portion of the game.
“I think when you look across the league at the other teams who were playing in the playoffs and what they did this last week, I think you’ll see a lot of high-level players playing in their football games. I think that’s fair to say. I think you’ll see all the big-time quarterbacks, big-time players were out there for their football teams because they have to be.”
Across the league, the Giants, who were locked into the sixth seed, sat starters, including Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Andrew Thomas, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence.
The Buccaneers won the NFC South title a week ago, and they still took a cautious approach. Tom Brady and several other starters were pulled before halftime.
The Chiefs and Bills played their starters for the entirety of their respective games, but they had playoff implications.
Williams had x-rays on his back and the results were negative. He will get more tests done tomorrow. If Williams happens to miss next Saturday’s game against the Jaguars due to the injury, all fingers will be pointed at Staley for his decision.
Rashawn Slater has been out since Week 3.
The Chargers are primed for the playoffs. They are red-hot, winning their last four games. But they’re still without a key player that could ensure they make some serious noise.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater has been out since Week 3 after rupturing his biceps. Slater’s injury was initially thought of as a season-ending blow, but there is a chance of returning.
“He is still working through his return to play,” Brandon Staley said. “He’s working through things and progressing well. If he returns to play, I think that you guys will sense that momentum, in terms of how we will handle it.”
Slater has been in the facility rehabbing from his injury.
Having Slater back would be pivotal, as L.A. will be relying on Justin Herbert heavily in the playoffs, and having his blindside protected is imperative. Additionally, Slater is a major component in the run game.
However, the Chargers have to factor in his long-term health, and they don’t want to take the chance of re-injury if Slater comes back too soon.
If the team ultimately plays it safe, it will continue to be Jamaree Salyer’s job. Salyer has played 100% of the offensive snaps since Week 4. While he has had rough moments, particularly against speed rushers, Salyer has been plenty reliable for a rookie.
We now wait and see if Slater will be designated to return off injured reserve ahead of their wild-card matchup, which will take place next weekend.
The Chargers clinched the playoffs, despite a multitude of injuries throughout the season.
Resilience and adversity are two things the Chargers are very familiar with.
At the beginning of the season, there were high expectations that the Bolts would be lethal playoff contenders. However, those expectations were quickly dismissed when several starters fell to injury early in the season.
Los Angeles began the season 1-2. Then, they were 4-3 during the bye week. And then, after being 5-3, the middle portion of the season wasn’t so pretty, as the team entered the month of December with a 6-6 record.
Nevertheless, the Bolts rallied to win three consecutive games with a defense that finally found its groove, despite missing star safety Derwin James for those contests and an offense orchestrated by quarterback Justin Herbert.
On Monday night, the Chargers clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2018 following their 20-3 win over the Colts.
“It’s just the beginning. This is just the beginning. This is not our final goal,” head coach Brandon Staley said. “We expected to be at this point. I’m really proud of how this season has gone for our football team and what we’ve been able to demonstrate in order to make it into the postseason.
“That’s probably what I’m most proud of,” Staley added. “Not just being in it, but how we made it. What it took for us to get in. But this is just the beginning for us.”
Los Angeles still has two games remaining against the Broncos and Rams, which will dictate its playoff seeding.
“Everything we worked for, everything we were here for … we are in the fight,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said.
It hasn’t been a seamless season for the Bolts, but resilience and adversity are two qualities that shape a championship team. There is no question that a winning team is talented, but are they tough enough to make it to the very end?
“I think for far too long, people have talked about the talent of this football team and the organization. That’s ultimately not what gets you where you want to go,” Staley said.
“You have to prove your toughness, and that’s what we’ve proven so far this year, that we have a tough enough football team — mentally and physically — to be where we are right now, which is in the tournament.”
The Chargers couldn’t have hit their stride at a better time, and they should only benefit from getting back key players in edge defender Joey Bosa and offensive tackle Rashawn Slater from their perspective injuries.
As Allen said, the Bolts are in the fight, and they will look to make a run when postseason play begins.
The Los Angeles Chargers will get a key player back.
The Chargers will get a key player back as the regular season nears an end and they get into postseason play.
Los Angeles is expected to get edge defender Joey Bosa back at practice this week, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and Bridget Cotton.
Head coach Brandon Staley teased the possibility of Bosa and left tackle Rashawn Slater returning, and it appears the prolific pass rusher will be the first of the two.
When asked about the status of Bosa, Staley said, “We’re going to take that on a day-to-day basis.”
From the day he begins practicing, L.A. will have three weeks to activate him from injured reserve.
Bosa has been out since Week 3 when he sustained a torn groin injury that required surgery.
Getting the four-time Pro Bowler is enormous for a defense that has finally found its stride in the past three games.
During the first two games of the season, Bosa and his partner-in-crime Khalil Mack were wreaking havoc, as they combined for 5.5 sacks, 20 quarterback pressures, and 13 hurries.
Throw in Kyle Van Noy coming into his own, as he has ten pressures and three sacks in the last three contests, and there should be plenty of production from the edge defender position.
The Chargers could be getting their star defender back at practice this week.
The Chargers could be getting their star defender back at practice this week.
According to head coach Brandon Staley, Derwin James could return to practice this week ahead of Monday’s game against the Colts.
“He’s progressing,” Staley said of James. “We are hoping to see him back in practice at some point this week. With the extra day, we’re going to make sure that we take full advantage of it, but I still consider him day-to-day.
He’s feeling better, for sure. If you were able to see him work out during pregame, he is trending in the right direction.”
James has missed the last two games due to a quadriceps injury he sustained in Week 13 against the Raiders.
Even without James on the field, Los Angeles still played at a high level in its victories over the Dolphins and Titans.
Over the past two weeks, the Bolts rank third in defensive DVOA.
Alohi Gilman, who’s filled in as the starter for James, has been playing really good football alongside Nasir Adderley.
Getting the do-it-all defender back will be huge as the Bolts hit the final three games of the season and likely into the playoffs.
