Chargers Work Out DE Kony Ealy
The Chargers are looking for defensive line help. On Wednesday, the club auditioned defensive end Kony Ealy plus defensive linemen Xavier Cooper and Anthony Lanier. 
Ealy hooked on with the Jets last year after being cut by the Patriots and proved to be a quality addition. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet in New York, he graded out as the No. 61 edge defender in the league. This year, he tried to make the Cowboys’ roster, but he was let go on cut weekend.
Cooper, a 2015 third-round pick of the Browns, missed the Jets’ cut earlier this month. He appeared in eight games for Gang Green and five contests for the Niners last year. Lanier, meanwhile, worked out for the Texans on Tuesday but left without a deal.
It seems likely that the Chargers will sign at least one player from this trio as they look to bolster their edge rush.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/18/18
Here’s the latest from the NFL workout circuit on a busy Tuesday. All links to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Kennan Gilchrist, Hayes Pullard (Twitter link via Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan)
Atlanta Falcons
- CB Taveze Calhoun, CB Taurean Nixon, CB Malik Reaves (link)
Buffalo Bills
- DT Michael Bennett, DT Quinton Dial, QB Tyler Ferguson, CB Michael Hunter, OL Austin Pasztor, WR Hunter Sharp, WR Brandon Shippen, OL Jylan Ware (link)
Carolina Panthers
- T Isaiah Battle, TE Blake Bell, TE Billy Brown, TE Kyle Carter, T Roubbens Joseph, T Michael Ola, QB Dalton Sturm, T Darrell Williams (link)
Cleveland Browns
- WR Bennie Fowler, WR Dontrelle Inman, LB Azeem Victor (link)
Dallas Cowboys
- CB Jeremy Boykins, WR Chad Hansen, LB Ufomba Kamalu, WR Justice Liggins, DE Cameron Malveaux, WR Francis Owusu, T William Poehls, DT Christian Ringo, DT Adolphus Washington (link)
Detroit Lions
- DT Darius Kilgo (via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, on Twitter)
Houston Texans
- RB Matthew Dayes, DE Anthony Lanier, RB Jeremy McNichols, CB Herb Waters, CB D.J. White, WR Isaac Whitney (link)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- T Gerhard de Beer, T Christian DiLauro, T Antonio Garcia, WR Francis Owusu, WR Brandon Reilly, WR Travis Rudolph (link)
Kansas City Chiefs
- TE Jerell Adams, TE Nick Keizer, TE David Wells, , (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Los Angeles Chargers
- G Spencer Drango, T Jamar McGloster (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Los Angeles Rams
- G Ian Silberman, T David Steinmetz, T Darrell Williams (link)
New England Patriots
- QB Kyle Allen, RB Andre Ellington, RB Charcandrick West (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
New Orleans Saints
- LB Jonathan Freeny, LB Josh Keyes, LB Darnell Sankey, LB Martrell Spaight (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB De’Vante Bausby, DE Hunter Dimick, DT Sealver Siliga, LB Emmanuel Smith, CB Herb Waters, LB Antwione Williams (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Tennessee Titans
- CB Makinton Dorleant, DT Darius Kilgo, DT Dee Liner, DT Jamie Meder, S Josh Robinson, CB Henre’ Toliver (link)
Washington Redskins
- G Kofi Amichia, G Jamil Douglas, T Chris Durant, C Jake Eldrenkamp, T Justin Evans, G Kaleb Johnson (link)
Joey Bosa Out Until At Least October
- This is not much of a surprise given a report from earlier this week, but Schefter reports that Chargers DE Joey Bosa is expected to be sidelined until at least October. Bosa is continuing to rehab his foot with the hope that the swelling goes down and the foot stabilizes, but surgery is still very much in play if that does not happen.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/18
Here are Saturday’s minor moves.
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Brandon Wilds
- Waived: WR Rashad Greene
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on IR: CB Craig Mager
- Signed: T Trenton Scott
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: T Tyler Marz
- Waived: CB Kenneth Durden
Latest On Chargers TE Hunter Henry
Less than four months after tearing his ACL, Hunter Henry is already taking major steps in his recovery process. Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that the Chargers tight end was seen “sprinting with a large brace” on Friday. This comes after Henry participated in a light workout with his teammates.
After hauling in 81 catches for 1,057 yards and 12 touchdowns through the first two seasons of his career, Henry was ready for a breakout campaign in 2018. With Antonio Gates out of the picture, the 2016 second-round pick was ready to become one of Philip Rivers‘ favorite targets in the passing game. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old suffered a torn ACL during a non-contact play on the first day of the Chargers’ organized team activities. It was assumed at the time that Henry would have to sit out the entire 2018 campaign.
That still might be the case, but Henry seems to be recovering quickly. While head coach Anthony Lynn noted that the tight end “took it to another level” this past week, general manager Tom Telesco previously cautioned that it was more likely Henry returned in 2019 than 2018. Henry is currently sitting on the PUP, meaning he could be activated after sitting out the first six weeks.
The team also seen speedy ACL recoveries in the past. As Wang points out, pass rusher Melvin Ingram returned to the field six months after suffering the injury in 2013. That’s usually the minimum recovery time required for a torn ACL, and it’s not uncommon to see players sit out 12 months. Either way, considering the progress Henry has already made, the tight end could logically return to the field before the end of the regular season. At the very least, it’s telling that the organization hasn’t completely rejected the idea.
The Chargers ended up re-signing Gates to pair with Virgil Green and Sean Culkin. If Henry returns, he’d slide into a lethal offense that also includes running back Melvin Gordon and wideouts Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
Joe Barksdale Out For Bolts In Week 2
- As expected, Joey Bosa is out for the Chargers-Bills game Sunday. Right tackle Joe Barksdale won’t suit up, either, ESPN’s Eric Williams tweets. A knee injury’s affecting Barksdale. Sam Tevi is likely to start for the Bolts at right tackle. Second-year defensive end Isaac Rochell replaced Bosa as a starting defensive end last week.
Owners Upset At Spanos For Moving Bolts?
Beginning their second year in Los Angeles, the Chargers are in an interesting spot. They have perhaps as talented a roster as they’ve possessed since their late-2000s run of AFC West titles but play in a soccer stadium and carry likely the NFL’s smallest fan base. The NFL gave Dean Spanos the option of leaving San Diego for L.A. in 2016, and he exercised it once the Bolts’ bid to secure public funding for a downtown stadium failed. But some owners were disappointed Spanos took the league up on the San Diego exit strategy, author Mark Leibovich writes in his new book, “Big Game: The NFL In Dangerous Times” (via Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Some of the owners were displeased with the efforts he put forth to land a new stadium deal in San Diego, Leibovich writes, adding this contingent of power brokers were “miffed” the Chargers owner turned the situation into “a towering embarrassment.”
This is an interesting stance considering the NFL gave the Chargers L.A. dibs before the Raiders, but now that the Bolts moved, they don’t appear to be thriving in their new market. That could have been expected given their lack of history in Los Angeles compared to the Rams or Raiders. Krasovic adds some around the league wonder if Spanos will sell the Chargers a few years into their stay at Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood stadium in believing the franchise’s value will have peaked by then.
- Joey Bosa‘s official diagnosis is a bone bruise on his left foot, Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. The Chargers defensive end is not expected to need surgery, with rest and rehab being the current plan to get the stalwart pass rusher back on the field. He’s not expected to play against the Bills on Sunday, and Anthony Lynn wouldn’t be surprised if he missed more games.
Joey Bosa Likely To Miss More Games
Joey Bosa‘s foot issue has become a key concern for the Chargers. Their dynamic defensive end is unlikely to make his season debut for a bit.
During a Sirius XM Radio interview (Twitter link), Anthony Lynn said he does not expect the third-year defender to suit up for the “next couple of weeks.”
Bosa visited foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson on Wednesday and was already not expected to join the Chargers on the field for their Week 2 Bills game Sunday, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets this injury is not serious enough the Bolts are considering an IR stay.
Given his importance to the Chargers’ defense, which ranked third against the pass last season, this poses a problem. Bosa (23 career sacks) and Melvin Ingram are arguably the top edge-rushing pair in the NFL, but the Bolts aren’t particularly deep behind them. Only two more defensive ends — 2017 seventh-rounder Isaac Rochell and third-round Justin Jones — are on Los Angeles’ roster. The Bolts are already without Corey Liuget due to a four-game suspension.
The Chargers allowed Patrick Mahomes to throw four touchdown passes Sunday in a double-digit loss to the Chiefs. After the Bills, the Bolts will trek to the Los Angeles Coliseum for a Rams tilt before rounding out September with a home 49ers assignment.
Latest On Joey Bosa
We learned yesterday that Chargers star defensive end Joey Bosa would miss the team’s Week 1 matchup against the Chiefs this afternoon, but the news may be even worse for Bolts fans. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that Bosa will miss multiple games as a result of his foot injury, and that he is scheduled to meet with foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson this Wednesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says that Bosa suffered a soft tissue injury to his foot on August 7, and while he was able to return to practice this past week, he suffered a different injury to the same foot on Wednesday. The most recent injury is currently being classified as a bone bruise, and Bosa is now in a walking boot.
Rapoport suggests that the injury is not considered major, though both he and Schefter note that there is no definitive timetable on Bosa’s return. In the meantime, Isaac Rochell will start in Bosa’s place and will attempt to replicate at least some of his production.
Needless to say, that will be a tall task. Bosa has quickly established himself as one of the best young defenders in the game, having recorded 23 sacks in 28 career games.
Joey Bosa Now Wearing Walking Boot
- Joey Bosa may miss Week 1 as well, and the Chargers‘ dynamic pass rusher was spotted in a walking boot on Friday, Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bosa will be out for Sunday’s game, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Bosa missed the preseason with a foot injury, but Wang notes (on Twitter) that ailment healed and that the third-year defensive end is week-to-week because of a different malady on that same foot. While the Bolts have maybe the NFL’s best edge-rushing tandem in Bosa and Melvin Ingram, they aren’t especially deep at that position.
- The nagging heel issue Eric Berry‘s been dealing with will likely keep him out of Week 1. Andy Reid (via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com, on Twitter) does not expect his All-Pro safety to be available when the Chiefs play arguably their toughest AFC West game of the season — a road tilt against the Chargers. Berry’s been held out of practice this week. He missed the Chiefs’ final 15 games of last season with an Achilles tear, his second severe NFL injury. Berry’s right heel’s plagued him in recent weeks, and was also an issue in Kansas City’s 2017 training camp; the ninth-year safety tore his left Achilles’ tendon in Week 1 of last season. He hasn’t practice since August 11. Eric Murray and the recently reacquired Ron Parker are K.C.’s likely safety starters, per Teicher.
- Joey Bosa may miss Week 1 as well, and the Chargers‘ dynamic pass rusher was spotted in a walking boot on Friday, Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bosa will be out for Sunday’s game, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Bosa missed the preseason with a foot injury, but Wang notes (on Twitter) that ailment healed and that the third-year defensive end is week-to-week because of a different malady on that same foot. While the Bolts have maybe the NFL’s best edge-rushing tandem in Bosa and Melvin Ingram, they aren’t especially deep at that position.