Tag: Derwin James injury

Chargers’ Derwin James limited at mandatory minicamp

Chargers safety Derwin James underwent shoulder surgery in February.

The Chargers opened up their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday. While the team had every player in attendance, not everyone participated in all of the drills, including star safety Derwin James.

According to head coach Brandon Staley, James had surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder after the Pro Bowl in February. As a result, he was limited to 11-on-11 walk-through drills at a jogging pace.

“Derwin didn’t participate in any of the seven-on-seven this spring because of him coming off the labrum surgery,” Staley said. “We wanted to make sure he stayed out of the competitive seven-on-seven. He did all the individual work.”

Staley called it “precautionary,” and that James should be ready to go when training camp starts next month.

In 15 games last season, James had two interceptions, five passes defended and three forced fumbles. This came after being limited to five games in his sophomore season and missing all of the 2020 season with a knee injury.

Derwin James is Chargers’ biggest X-Factor in 2021

When safety Derwin James is on the field, there’s a greater chance for success.

When referring to an X-factor, we’re not talking about a player who lines up in the “X” position as a wide receiver. Instead, we’re talking about a player who steps up for the team in a big way to make a difference.

There are going to be several players on the Chargers who make an impact on both sides of the ball, but safety Derwin James’ might be the most significant.

That is why James was listed as Los Angeles’ biggest X-factor entering the 2021 season by Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon.

If the Bolts are going to hang with Mahomes and the Chiefs and, if a trade happens, possibly even Rodgers and the Broncos in 2021, they’ll need more from that unit. That includes help for elite pass-rusher Joey Bosa up front (ideally from young first-round picks Jerry Tillery and Kenneth Murray as well as Melvin Ingram III replacement Uchenna Nwosu), but the key might be a bounce-back year from Derwin James in the secondary.

Football is a team sport, but James is a one-man wrecking crew that has dictated a large portion of the team’s success.

In 2018, which is the year James did play a complete season, he was an All-Pro and the Chargers were 12-4 and in the playoff. The past two seasons, in which he was hurt, they had a losing record and missed the playoffs both years.

Now fully healthy, James will have a chance to return to his original form and display his versatility in new head coach Brandon Staley’s defense, where he will be used in a variety of roles.

When James is on the field, opposing offenses are more prone to struggle due to his rare skillset against the pass, run, or as a blitzer.

In two seasons, James has 139 tackles, three interceptions, 3.5 sacks and 14 passes defensed.

At the end of the day, if James is on the field then there’s a greater chance of Los Angeles making a deeper run.

Chargers’ Nasir Adderley set up for strong sophomore season

Chargers safety Nasir Adderley is looking to make an impact in Year 2.

The Chargers are maneuvering some of the pieces in their secondary after the big loss of Derwin James, who is expected to be out for the entire 2020 season due to a torn meniscus.

One of the most reasonable options is sliding Rayshawn Jenkins from the free safety position to strong safety, and letting second-year Nasir Adderley play the single-high role.

Prior to James’ injury, Adderley had been practicing at multiple spots. But now, the former Delaware product could be set up to start at the position that he was originally drafted to play.

Adderley, who missed the majority of his rookie season with a hamstring injury, is now healthy and is practicing with the same energy that he brought to the preseason finale last year where he posted three passes defensed and an interception.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said that Adderley has caught the coaching staff’s attention, and mentioned he’s taken a big step from this time last year to now.

The team is looking at all options on how their secondary will shape up without their star safety. But it appears that Adderley will be involved one way or another, and he could be due for a impactful season in Year 2, if he stays healthy.

HC Anthony Lynn shuts down idea of Chargers signing safety Earl Thomas

It doesn’t appear that the Chargers will dip into the free agency pool to sign the seven-time Pro Bowler.

The Chargers are figuring out how they’re going to go about playing without safety Derwin James after he injured his right meniscus in practice on Sunday.

Among the ways that Los Angeles could address the situation, which has garnered a lot of attention, is by signing free agent Earl Thomas.

However, coach Anthony Lynn put those assumptions to bed when asked by a reporter at today’s media availability, stating he has confidence with the players that are on the roster.

“Since you guys are constantly telling me how stacked my secondary is, why the hell would I be looking anywhere else?” Lynn told reporters Monday, per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.

The murmurs started because Thomas played for defensive coordinator Gus Bradley with the Seahawks years ago.

This was said before a report came out that said there is mutual interest between L.A. and safety Jahleel Addae, whom played with the team for six seasons.

If the Chargers choose to go into the season with their in-house options, I laid out a few options on how they can line up the defensive backs in the absence of James.

How Chargers can fill Derwin James’ void

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lists what Los Angeles can do to replace Derwin James while he misses time.

The Chargers will be without one of their top defensive playmakers for a significant amount of time.

Derwin James sustained a severe meniscus injury at practice on Sunday, and will miss a good chunk of time because of it.

Los Angeles will once again be in a position to fill the void of James. They were forced to do it last season after he suffered a stress fracture in his foot.

Given the fact that he’s one of the best safeties in the league, it won’t be an easy task to get the same amount of production, but the show must go on.

So how will L.A. go about it? There are a few options.

The first is starting sixth-round pick Alohi Gilman. Gilman has been working as the backup strong safety throughout camp after Roderic Teamer was cut from the team.

I wrote about Gilman earlier, stating that he could make an impact in his rookie season. This was before James’ injury, but now the door is open for him to claim a starting role.

The next reasonable option is moving Rayshawn Jenkins from free safety to strong safety, and letting 2019 second-round pick Nasir Adderley play the single-high role.

Jenkins is familiar with the strong safety position, and the coaching staff covets his versatility to be bounced around in the secondary. Prior to the injury, he was a candidate to play the dime linebacker role.

Los Angeles could get Desmond King, who’s the mystery man in the secondary, involved. They could keep Jenkins at strong safety and let King play free safety. King has been working there with the second-team.

If the Bolts aren’t confident with any of these options, they could dip into the free agency pool.

One of the top options is Earl Thomas, who was released by the Ravens last week. Thomas has some familiarity with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, as the two were together with the Seahawks for a few seasons.

Thomas has primarily played the free safety position, but Bradley could get creative with the other members of the secondary to still have him on the field.

Other free agents that could garner the attention of the Chargers include Tony Jefferson, Reshad Jones and Eric Reid.

The Chargers will have to act quickly to fill James’ void as they are two weeks away from the season opener against the Bengals. It will be interesting to see how the team goes about it.