The Chargers could be without star defensive end Joey Bosa on Sunday as he deals with an ongoing foot issue, head coach Anthony Lynn told reporters, including Jack Wang of the Orange County Register. “It’s a possibility that he might not be with us,” Lynn said. “You know, we’re hopeful, but it’s possible…Foot injuries, they take on all the body weight.” Bosa hasn’t fully practiced in over a month, and Los Angeles likely doesn’t want to risk the health of its best defensive player, even though it’ll be facing a divisional opponent in the Chiefs. The Chargers, who will also be missing suspended defensive tackle Corey Liuget, would deploy second-year pro Isaac Rochell in Bosa’s stead, while Chris Landrum and second-round rookie Uchenna Nwosu could also see snaps.
Here’s more from the AFC West:
- Perhaps unsurprisingly given Bosa’s health issues, the Chargers were one of four teams that placed a waiver claim on former Lions defensive end Anthony Zettel, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. The Packers, Vikings, and Browns (the latter of which had the No. 1 waiver priority and thus landed the ex-Detroit pass-rusher) also put in claims for Zettel, per Yates. Zettel is only 26 years old and started all 16 games for the Lions a season ago, so his release was certainly unexpected. Pro Football Focus graded Zettel as a top-50 edge defender in 2018, and he posted 6.5 sacks. A sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Zettel is under contract through 2019.
- Franchise icon Antonio Gates will earn $2.5MM on his new one-year deal with the Chargers, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). Gates will receive a $1MM signing bonus, and Pelissero previously reported the contract contains a few “reachable” incentives. Los Angeles had previously indicated Gates would not be re-signed for a 16th season, but after fellow tight end Hunter Henry went down with a torn ACL, the Chargers decided to bring Gates back into the fold. Gates is now 38 years old and posted only 316 receiving yards in 2017, but he’s still arguably an upgrade to Los Angeles’ tight end depth chart.
- More from Pelissero, who reports the Raiders gave wide receiver Brandon LaFell $1.75MM on his one-year deal, including $835K guaranteed. As was the case with Gates, LaFell’s base salary would have become fully guaranteed in Week 1 anyway given that he’s a vested veteran, so the specific amount of guarantees at signing aren’t all that critical. LaFell’s contract also contains incentives that are apparently “likely to be earned” (and thus count against Oakland’s salary cap), as his cap charge for the year is ~$2.313MM. He’ll compete to be the Raiders’ fourth receiver behind Amari Cooper, Jordy Nelson, and Seth Roberts.
Chargers will continue to be overwhelmed and obliterated by the inevitable and ongoing black cloud of Spanos bad karma!
The good news is that AFC West is up for grabs as each team has some significant issues to address. If the Chargers can duplicate the positive turnover ratio they had last season they will be in the hunt for the top spot.