Los Angeles Chargers Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

The Chargers officially activated the 21-day practice window for tight end Hunter Henry. Henry has been out all year with a torn ACL, but he has a chance to return for the Bolts’ playoff run.

Henry’s odds for actually making it back on to the field remain to be seen. ACL tears call for a lengthy and arduous recovery and Henry is only eight months removed from the injury. In November, the prospect of a Henry return was reportedly viewed as a “long shot.”

After hauling in 81 catches for 1,057 yards and 12 touchdowns through the first two seasons of his career, Henry was primed for a breakout campaign in 2018. Initially, the team planned to forge ahead without Antonio Gates and truly give Henry a chance to sign, but Henry’s injury brought the veteran back into the fold.

Gates, 38, has had a quiet year thus far with 25 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns, though he ranks as the No. 10 tight end in the NFL, according to the metrics at Pro Football Focus. Blocking specialist has seen roughly twice as many snaps as Gates, however, and has even less offensive production to his credit. Still, even without Henry as their main tight end, the Chargers have managed an 11-3 record.

Melvin Gordon Expected Back Week 16

December 16th, 2018 at 5:45pm CST by Micah Powell

Sidelined for the last three games, Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is expected to make a return to the field when Los Angeles takes on Baltimore in Week 16, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

The Pro Bowl running back has been sidelined since sustaining a grade 2 MCL sprain in Los Angeles’ Week 12 matchup with Arizona. The Chargers back was operating as one of the league’s best backs before the injury. Through ten games, Gordon had nine rushing touchdowns and has averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He also had 44 catches for 453 yards and four scores.

His absence hasn’t exactly slowed down the Chargers, who have rattled off three consecutive wins without their star running back to move into a tie for first place in the AFC West. Though the team is rolling, the ground game has taken a back seat, producing two of the team’s four worst rushing performances on the year.

The Chargers currently hold the tiebreaker over the Chiefs for the top spot in the West, but have a tough challenge against a Ravens squad also battling for playoff positioning.

Keenan Allen Dealing With Hip Pointer

December 14th, 2018 at 6:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Chargers picked up their biggest win of the season last night against the Chiefs, but they didn’t escape Kansas City unscathed. Already dealing with injuries to running backs Austin Ekeler and Melvin Gordon, they suffered another blow when star receiver Keenan Allen went down in the first half. Allen never returned to the game, and now we have an update on his status. Allen has been diagnosed with a hip pointer, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). While it is a somewhat significant injury, Rapoport notes there is no structural damage to his hip. He writes that it isn’t a longterm injury, and although he says he could “miss some time” it sounds like Allen will be back in time for the playoffs at the absolute latest.

Chargers Place CB Trevor Williams On IR

December 13th, 2018 at 5:17pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chargers made a number of roster moves before tonight’s contest against the Chiefs, including placing cornerback Trevor Williams on injured reserve. Additionally, linebacker Tre’Von Johnson has been waived, while running back Troymaine Pope and linebacker Kyle Wilson have been promoted from the practice squad to the active roster.

Williams, 25, was hampered by an ankle injury that cost him most of the Chargers’ offseason program and preseason. He made it back in time for Week 1 and served as a starter for much of the year before suffering a knee injury during practice in Week 10. Williams has barely played since, managing only a single defensive snap and a handful of special teams plays in Week 13.

Since Williams went down, second-year cornerback Michael Davis has taken over as Los Angeles’ nickelback and played quite well, grading as the NFL’s No. 53 CB among 113 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus, which had ranked Williams just 79th. Davis will continue to lineup alongside Casey Hayward and Desmond King in one of the league’s best secondaries, a unit that currently ranks ninth in pass defense DVOA. As for Williams, he’s scheduled to become a restricted free agent in 2019.

Pope’s elevation to the Chargers’ active roster is further proof Los Angeles isn’t optimistic fellow running back Melvin Gordon will be able to play on Thursday night. Gordon himself said he’ll be a game-time decision, and if he can’t go, Pope could serve as insurance behind Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome (usual No. 2 back Austin Ekeler has already been declared out for tonight’s matchup).

Chargers RB Melvin Gordon A Game-Time Decision?

December 12th, 2018 at 8:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Chargers are reportedly not optimistic that they’ll have running back Melvin Gordon for Thursday night’s contest against the Chiefs, Gordon himself believes he’ll be a game-time decision for the pivotal AFC West matchup, as Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com writes.

“I’ve been grinding hard to get back and we’re still trying to decide what we’re going to do,” Gordon said. “I know Coach [Anthony Lynn] is trying to be careful and doesn’t want me to further hurt myself or things like that. So we’ll see where that goes, but I’m a lot stronger and more confident than I was last week.

“I’d love to be out there,” Gordon continued. “I know it’s a big game and I know the guys want me to be out there. We need all of the play-makers we can to beat K.C.; you know how explosive they are. I just love football, and we’ve only got a few games left before we get to the offseason, then we can do what we want to do.”

The Chargers haven’t exactly played it safe with Gordon’s health this season. Los Angeles allowed its star running back to suit up and handle a normal workload against an overmatched Cardinals team in Week 12, and Gordon ultimately left that game with an MCL injury and hasn’t played since. Thursday’s contest against the Chiefs has far more at stake, so the Chargers might be even more amenable to deploying Gordon despite his injury status.

If Gordon can’t play against Kansas City, Los Angeles figures to deploy Justin Jackson in a full-time manner, with fellow rookie Detrez Newsome also seeing snaps.

Chargers To Be Without Gordon, Ekeler?

December 11th, 2018 at 10:14am CST by Zachary Links

With a win over the Chiefs on Thursday night, the Chargers can take a step closer towards winning the AFC West title. Unfortunately, it sounds like they’ll go into the game without their two best running backs.

The Chargers are not optimistic that Melvin Gordon (knee) and Austin Ekeler (neck, concussion) will be ready for this weeks’ game, head coach Anthony Lynn tells Steve Wyche of NFL.com (on Twitter). Instead, the Chargers are planning to use rookie running backs Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome in the backfield.

Gordon has been sidelined since sustaining a grade 2 MCL sprain in Los Angeles’ Week 12 matchup with Arizona. Since then, Jackson has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Chargers. He averaged eight yards per carry in Weeks 12 and 13, but had just 12 yards off of seven carries in Sunday’s win over the Bengals. Newsome, meanwhile, has not touched the ball in the last two games.

If the Chiefs beat the Chargers on Thursday, they’ll clinch the AFC West title, allowing them to rest their best players over the final two weeks of the season. Even in that scenario, the Chargers are all virtually assured a place in the postseason.

Austin Ekeler Unlikely For Week 15

December 10th, 2018 at 7:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

With a home game against the Chargers and a road tilt in Seattle, the Chiefs have a tough back-to-back assignment coming up. Their top wide receiver likely will not be 100 percent for those games. Tyreek Hill said Sunday, via NBC Sports’ Peter King, his foot was “bad.” Hill left Sunday’s overtime win because of injury but returned, and Andy Reid expects the deep threat to play against the Bolts on Thursday. The Chiefs possessed a top-flight skill-position quartet, powering Patrick Mahomes‘ MVP candidacy, this season. But they are now without Kareem Hunt and Sammy Watkins, the latter likely out until the playoffs. Hill has not missed an NFL game due to injury. A Hill absence would make Kansas City vulnerable against a Chargers team that would move into an 11-3 tie atop the AFC West with a win. That said, the Chiefs would still hold the divisional-record tiebreaker and keep the top spot.

With a home game against the Chargers and a road tilt in Seattle, the Chiefs have a tough back-to-back assignment coming up. Their top wide receiver likely will not be 100 percent for those games. Tyreek Hill said Sunday, via NBC Sports’ Peter King, his foot was “bad.” Hill left Sunday’s overtime win because of injury but returned, and Andy Reid expects the deep threat to play against the Bolts on Thursday. The Chiefs possessed a top-flight skill-position quartet, powering Patrick Mahomes‘ MVP candidacy, this season. But they are now without Kareem Hunt and Sammy Watkins, the latter likely out until the playoffs. Hill has not missed an NFL game due to injury. A Hill absence would make Kansas City vulnerable against a Chargers team that would move into an 11-3 tie atop the AFC West with a win. That said, the Chiefs would still hold the divisional-record tiebreaker and keep the top spot.
Chances for a Thursday recovery for Austin Ekeler aren’t as good. The second-year Chargers running back suffered a bruised nerve in his neck, per Eric Williams of ESPN.com, and although he played through similar discomfort earlier this season, Ekeler not playing appears to be the most likely scenario. “It’s football, yeah, but there’s a lot of life after football, too,” Ekeler said Monday. Melvin Gordon is expected to return from his MCL injury, however.

Ekeler Could Miss Time

December 9th, 2018 at 10:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

While Week 14 wasn’t nearly as bad as recent weeks in terms of carnage, there were still some significant injuries to big players today. The Chargers are already dealing with the loss of running back Melvin Gordon to an MCL injury, and may now be without his backfield mate Austin Ekeler for a while. Ekeler aggravated the stingers he’s been dealing with in the team’s win over the Bengals today, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Chargers play in Kansas City this Thursday night in a huge game for playoff seeding, and Schefter writes that “the short week will make it tough” for Ekeler to play.

Melvin Gordon Expected To Return In Week 15

December 9th, 2018 at 11:40am CST by Rory Parks

The Chiefs and Chargers will play each other in a pivotal Week 15 bout this Thursday. La Canfora tweets that Kansas City safety Eric Berry and Los Angeles running back Melvin Gordon will both be on the field for that game, although both are inactive today.

Los Angeles Chargers News & Rumors