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Los Angeles Chargers News & Rumors

Chargers Designate DE Melvin Ingram, DT Justin Jones To Return

October 19th, 2020 at 5:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Chargers have once again been one of the most banged up teams in the league, but it looks like reinforcements are on the way. Los Angeles has designated defensive end Melvin Ingram and defensive tackle Justin Jones to return from injured reserve, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets.

Each can now return to practice. The team now has a three-week window to activate either player. If they are not activated in that span, they’ll be ineligible to return for the remainder of the year. Ingram usually forms one of the league’s best pass-rushing duos with Joey Bosa when healthy, and he’s made the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons. Jones, a 2018 third-round pick, is a starter and key run-stuffer.

With guys like Derwin James and Chris Harris sidelined, the Chargers could really use this boost on defense. They’re 1-4 on the year and have blown 17-point leads in back to back weeks. Despite the record the Chargers still have a legit chance, as Justin Herbert has looked like a star in the making and the schedule coming up is extremely soft. Their next five games are against the Jaguars, Broncos, Raiders, Dolphins, and Jets, so if the defense can heal up they’ve got a shot to make some noise.

Ingram has only played in the first two games of the season, and he had a crucial interception in a Week 1 win over the Bengals. The South Carolina product has at least seven sacks in each of the past five seasons. He’s dealing with a knee issue, while Jones has a shoulder injury.

2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team

October 19th, 2020 at 11:24am CST by Zachary Links

As shown by Le’Veon Bell‘s recent deal with the Chiefs, big name free agents can come available at any point throughout the season. His contract wasn’t particularly pricey, but teams like to keep cash on hand during the year, especially when mulling potential trades before the deadline. Excess cap room can also be rolled over from year-to-year and give clubs the opportunity to lock up their most valuable players with extensions.

Here are the most recent figures for each team, via Over The Cap:

  1. Cleveland Browns – $33.1MM
  2. New York Jets – $27.9MM
  3. Dallas Cowboys — $23.9MM
  4. Washington Football Team – $23.6MM
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars– $22.9MM
  6. New England Patriots – $22.9MM
  7. Denver Broncos – $19.7MM
  8. Detroit Lions – $17MM
  9. Philadelphia Eagles– $18MM
  10. Miami Dolphins – $15.8MM
  11. Indianapolis Colts – $10.4MM
  12. Pittsburgh Steelers – $9.6MM
  13. Cincinnati Bengals– $9MM
  14. Baltimore Ravens – $9MM
  15. Arizona Cardinals– $8.9MM
  16. Chicago Bears – $8.4MM
  17. Tennessee Titans – $8.3MM
  18. Houston Texans – $8.1MM
  19. Los Angeles Chargers — $8MM
  20. New Orleans Saints – $8MM
  21. Green Bay Packers – $7.7MM
  22. New York Giants – $7.2MM
  23. Los Angeles Rams – $7MM
  24. Las Vegas Raiders – $6.3MM
  25. Carolina Panthers – $6.2MM
  26. Kansas City Chiefs – $5.8MM
  27. Buffalo Bills – $5MM
  28. San Francisco 49ers – $4MM
  29. Seattle Seahawks – $4MM
  30. Atlanta Falcons – $2MM
  31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.4MM
  32. Minnesota Vikings – $158K

Chargers Showed Interest In Dolphins RB

October 14th, 2020 at 5:57pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The Dolphins recently promoted running back Salvon Ahmed to their active roster. They did so after the Chargers expressed interest in poaching Ahmed off Miami’s practice squad, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Chargers are down Austin Ekeler presently and have just two backs — Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley — on their active roster. A rookie UDFA out of Washington, Ahmed has yet to dress for an NFL game.

2021 NFL Draft Order

October 12th, 2020 at 11:57am CST by Zachary Links

With most of Week 5 in the books, we bring you a way-too-early look at the current order for the 2021 NFL draft. For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2020 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. After that, the same goes for the six clubs eliminated from each round of the postseason, with the final two picks determined by the outcome of the Super Bowl.

Here’s where things stand in the race to the bottom:

  1. New York Giants (0-5)
  2. Atlanta Falcons (0-5)
  3. New York Jets (0-5)
  4. Washington Football Team (1-4)
  5. Minnesota Vikings (1-4)
  6. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)
  7. Miami Dolphins (via Houston Texans, 1-4)
  8. Los Angeles Chargers (1-3)
  9. Detroit Lions (1-3)
  10. Denver Broncos (1-3)
  11. Philadelphia Eagles (1-3-1)
  12. Cincinnati Bengals (1-3-1)
  13. Miami Dolphins (2-3)
  14. San Francisco 49ers (2-3)
  15. New Orleans Saints (2-2)
  16. New England Patriots (2-2)
  17. Arizona Cardinals (3-2)
  18. Indianapolis Colts (3-2)
  19. Dallas Cowboys (2-3)
  20. Carolina Panthers (3-2)
  21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)
  22. Las Vegas Raiders (3-2)
  23. Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)
  24. Cleveland Browns (4-1)
  25.  Chicago Bears (4-1)
  26. Baltimore Ravens (4-1)
  27. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Los Angeles Rams, 4-1)
  28. Tennessee Titans (3-0)
  29. Green Bay Packers (4-0)
  30. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-0)
  31. Buffalo Bills (4-0)
  32. New York Jets (via Seattle Seahawks, 4-0)

Patriots, Titans Close Facilities Again; Pats-Broncos Rescheduled

October 11th, 2020 at 12:17pm CST by Rory Parks

12:17pm: We have an update on Cam Newton to pass along. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Newton has yet to return the two consecutive negative tests required to return to action (video link). But now that the Pats’ game against the Broncos has been pushed to next week, he will have more time to get right.

10:37am: Assuming the Titans are able to play on Tuesday, the Broncos and Patriots will indeed play each other next Sunday, as Schefter tweets. The Broncos and Chargers will then play each other in Week 8, which was supposed to be when Denver had its bye, and the Dolphins will now play the Broncos in Week 11. However, the Jaguars have now been impacted by this mess, as they were supposed to play the Broncos in Week 8. So there is still more rearranging to be done.

08:35am: The Patriots had one new positive COVID-19 test this morning, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). It was a player who tested positive, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk says that player was starting DT Byron Cowart. The team’s facility has been shut down again, more testing is being done, and Cowart will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list today.

Meanwhile, the Titans released a statement indicating that a coach tested positive. Their facility has been shut down as well, but as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports, that coach hasn’t been in the building for nearly two weeks (video link). As such, his positive test might be unrelated to the outbreak that has plagued the team, and contact tracing is being done as we speak.

New England and Tennessee just returned to their facilities yesterday after two consecutive days of negative tests. The Pats’ game against the Broncos this week had been pushed to Monday, and the Titans’ contest against the Bills was rescheduled for Tuesday, but now the Broncos-Patriots matchup has been moved to next Sunday (Twitter link via Schefter). New England and Denver will have their byes this week, and the league will need to reschedule the Broncos-Dolphins game that was originally slated for next week.

We heard several days ago that new positive tests were expected on the Patriots and Titans given the results of contact tracing on both clubs. The league was clear that additional positives would not necessarily mean the cancellation of games, and initial reports this morning indicated that the NFL still planned to move forward with Broncos-Pats tomorrow (Twitter link via Schefter).

However, a decision needed to be made quickly given that the Broncos were scheduled to make a cross-country flight to Foxborough today. Plus, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston says the Pats were not going to let the league compel them to play, and that if players and coaches are uncomfortable, they will not play (Twitter link).

Given the on-going contact tracing taking place within the Tennessee organization, there is not yet an official word from the league as to the Titans-Bills game. Since the Titans have already lost their bye week, the NFL will presumably want to move forward with that contest. Even if that happens, though, it seems that a Week 18 for rescheduled games around the league is becoming more and more realistic.

As always, we will keep you updated as soon as we have more to pass along.

Austin Ekeler Placed On IR

October 9th, 2020 at 3:09pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Oct. 9, 3:09pm: Ekeler has been placed on IR, the team announced.

Oct. 5, 2:12pm: Ekeler is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury, Schefter tweets. He notes Ekeler is seeking a second opinion on the injury and the timetable, although it sounds like injured reserve is a near certainty at this point.

Oct. 5, 11:39am: The Chargers collapsed like only they (and maybe the Falcons) know how to do, blowing a 17-point lead against the Buccaneers. The bad news doesn’t stop there however, as it looks like they’ll be without running back Austin Ekeler for a while.

Ekeler suffered a hyperextended knee and hamstring injury that will cause him to miss multiple weeks, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The severity won’t be known until an MRI on Monday, but it sounds like a trip to injured reserve (minimum three games) is a possibility. Ekeler pulled up lame and looked to be in loads of pain, needing to be carted off. The Chargers are expected to place Ekeler on IR, but they’ll wait until a full analysis is completed before making the call (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

It’s yet another brutal blow for a Chargers team that has yet again been besieged by injuries. They’re currently down multiple starters on the offensive line, receiver Mike Williams missed Sunday’s game, and a handful of starters on defense are hurt.

Los Angeles has come very close to winning every game, yet now sit at 1-3 through four weeks. Stop us if you’ve heard that one before. Ekeler was handling by far the biggest workload of his career this season after the Chargers moved on from Melvin Gordon. A dynamic pass-catcher as well as runner, he had 11 receptions in Week 3 against the Panthers.

The unheralded former undrafted free agent had 557 yards and three touchdowns on the ground last year, adding another 993 and eight through the air. The Western Colorado product signed a four-year, $24.5MM pact with the Chargers back in March, so thankfully he’s financially secure. Rookie fourth-rounder Joshua Kelley from UCLA and Justin Jackson will carry the load in his absence.

Chargers To Keep Justin Herbert As Starter

October 8th, 2020 at 2:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

Anthony Lynn has acknowledged what became known fairly early in Justin Herbert‘s three-game run subbing for an injured Tyrod Taylor. The fourth-year Chargers HC confirmed the quarterback job is Herbert’s going forward.

Lynn had previously kept the door open for Taylor to reclaim the job when he recovered from the chest injury a pregame shot aggravated just before the Bolts’ Week 2 game. In stepped Herbert, a rookie who was a candidate to sit behind Taylor for many games this season. But the rookie has outperformed expectations and will keep the starting job.

This represents another abrupt end to a Taylor bridge-QB period. The Browns moved to Baker Mayfield in Week 3 of the 2018 season, and Taylor did not start another game in a one-season Cleveland stay. His 2020 starting stint did not end up lasting that long. Taylor, who backed up Philip Rivers in 2019, will return to a QB2 role. Taylor, who started under Lynn in Buffalo during a three-season run as the team’s top quarterback, has not dressed since a lung-puncturing chest injection paused his season.

Although Herbert was linked to the Dolphins at No. 5 overall at points leading up to the draft, Scouts Inc. ranked the Oregon passer far behind Tua Tagovailoa overall. When the Dolphins drafted Tagovailoa, the Bolts quickly nabbed Herbert at No. 6. So far, the 6-foot-6 prospect has impressed. In Week 4, he helped the Bolts gain a three-score lead on the Buccaneers in a game that featured three Herbert touchdown passes — to UDFAs Tyron Johnson, Donald Parham and Jalen Guyton — and an 80% completion rate. Through three games, Herbert ranks 12th in QBR.

Herbert being ahead of the curve, despite some skepticism coming out of the draft and an offseason altered by the pandemic, would be a major win for a Chargers team that has enjoyed QB stability for most of this century. The Bolts signed a few 30-something veteran starters best suited to play for a contending team now. While the Chargers are 1-3, Herbert’s early promise would help the likes of Bryan Bulaga, Linval Joseph and Chris Harris contribute to a contender either in 2020 or ’21 — rather than play for a team dealing with uncertainty at quarterback.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/3/20

October 3rd, 2020 at 4:56pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is Saturday’s bevy of minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

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