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Los Angeles Chargers News & Rumors

Chargers DLs Christian Covington, Otito Ogbonnia Expected To Miss Rest Of Season

November 14th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers waived Jerry Tillery last week, leading to extensive interest on the wire. Had the team hung onto Tillery through Sunday night’s game, he probably would have seen an increased role. The Bolts’ defensive line equation changed during its loss to the 49ers.

Both Christian Covington and Otito Ogbonnia are expected to miss the rest of the season, Brandon Staley said Monday. Covington suffered a torn pectoral muscle, while Ogbonnia suffered a more severe injury — a ruptured patellar tendon. The latter is most definitely done for the year.

These injuries came shortly after the Bolts lost offseason pickup Austin Johnson for the year. Johnson suffered a fractured knee and sustained MCL damage during last week’s Bolts-Falcons game. Coupled with the losses the Chargers encountered against the 49ers, their post-Tillery D-line is short on staffers.

An eighth-year veteran who has seen game action with four teams, Covington is in his second season with the Chargers. He saw a 48% defensive snap share last season and has played a regular role in four games this year. The former Texans, Cowboys and Bengals contributor provided supplementary work on a retooled Bolts D-line this year. Covington, 29, is signed through the end of this season.

A fifth-round pick, Ogbonnia started his first career game Sunday night. The UCLA product has played 31% of the Bolts’ defensive snaps but has a long rehab road ahead. Patellar tendon ruptures can be difficult to surmount, putting the 21-year-old defender on an uncertain NFL path.

Tillery’s exit and the three season-ending injuries will obviously transform this defensive line. The team only has offseason addition Sebastian Joseph-Day, veteran pickup Morgan Fox and recent practice squad promotion Breiden Fehoko healthy at this position group going into Week 11. Roster adjustments will be made ahead of that Chiefs matchup. If free agency is considered, the likes of Ndamukong Suh, Sheldon Richardson and Brandon Williams are available. Ditto Linval Joseph, a two-year Chargers contributor who recently visited the Jets.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/12/22

November 12th, 2022 at 7:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the minor roster moves in anticipation for Sunday’s slate of games:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from IR: S Charles Washington
  • Promoted from practice squad: OL Rashaad Coward

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: TE Nick Muse

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Chargers Waive DL Jerry Tillery

November 10th, 2022 at 7:42pm CST by Ben Levine

The Chargers have moved on from a former first-round pick. The team announced that they’ve waived defensive lineman Jerry Tillery.

The Notre Dame product was selected by the Chargers with the 28th-overall pick in 2019. The defensive lineman had a difficult time carving out a consistent role in Los Angeles through his three-plus seasons with the organization. After serving as a backup during his rookie campaign, he started 26 games between 2020 and 2021. He’s been back to a situational role in 2022, starting none of his seven appearances. He’s collected eight tackles and one sack this year, and had he earned enough snaps, he would have graded as a middle-of-the-road interior defender, per Pro Football Focus (with the site giving him a nod for his pass-rush ability).

Tillery’s Chargers career will end with him having collected 106 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 54 games (29 starts). The 26-year-old had his fifth-year option declined back in May, so the team won’t be on the hook for any future money. If a team claims Tillery off waivers, they’ll be responsible for paying the $1MM-plus remaining on his pact for this season.

“Jerry has been a valued member of our organization since arriving in 2019, and I want to thank him for all his contributions to the Chargers,” said general manager Tom Telesco (via the team’s website). “This was not an easy decision but, after careful consideration, it was a necessary one that is in the best interest of both team and player. We wish Jerry all the best moving forward in his career.”

The Chargers brought in a number of defensive linemen this past offseason, including Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox, and rookie Otito Ogbonnia. That grouping will be more than capable of soaking up Tillery’s defensive snaps.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/9/22

November 9th, 2022 at 5:15pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/9/22

November 9th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Adams, Dulin, Ellefson, Galeai, Washington and Willis each have until Nov. 30 to be activated from IR. Should they not be activated, they would revert to season-ending IR. The Colts and Vikings are in solid shape regarding activations, having only used one apiece. The Bears, Cardinals, 49ers and Packers have used three such moves apiece. Teams are allotted eight injury activations this season.

The Cowboys dangled Basham in trades before last week’s deadline, but no takers emerged. While the team cut the other D-lineman they were hoping to deal — Trysten Hill, who has since been claimed by the Cardinals — they ended up using one of their injury activations on Basham. A former Colts third-round pick, Basham notched 3.5 sacks during his first Cowboys season last year. He played in one game this season (Week 1) before going down with a quadriceps injury. The Cowboys, who have Tyron Smith and James Washington on their IR-return radar, have used two injury activations this season.

Chargers DL Austin Johnson Out For Season

November 7th, 2022 at 10:37pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the Chargers’ key pieces in an effort to bolster their run defense this offseason, Austin Johnson will be sidelined for the rest of the year. Brandon Staley said a knee fracture will keep the veteran defensive lineman out.

Johnson also sustained MCL damage during the Bolts’ Week 9 win in Atlanta, Daniel Popper of The Athletic tweets. The seventh-year veteran is signed through 2023, having agreed to a two-year, $14MM pact early in free agency.

Thirtieth against the run last season, the Chargers reassembled their interior defensive line this year. They added Johnson, ex-Ram Sebastian Joseph-Day and fifth-round pick Otito Ogbonnia to the equation. Los Angeles still rosters Jerry Tillery, but the former first-round pick suffered a back injury weightlifting last week. Tillery missed Sunday’s game against the Falcons. Despite the upgrade efforts, the Bolts rank 29th against the run after eight games. Johnson’s injury certainly will not help matters.

Johnson, 28, elevated his value during a two-year stay with the Giants. The former Titans spot starter worked as a backup in 2020 but started all 17 Giants games last season, leading to a nice free agency payday. Johnson’s Chargers deal included $10.63MM guaranteed. While that does not ensure he will be back with the team in 2023, when an extensive rehab effort will now be required, the seventh-year vet did well to collect some guaranteed cash beyond the first year of his contract.

The Chargers also lost right tackle Trey Pipkins during their Falcons matchup. Pipkins aggravated an MCL sprain, Staley said. Pipkins still has a chance to play in Week 10, per Staley. Illustrating how no two injuries are alike, 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell has lost half the season to an MCL sprain.

A former third-round pick, Pipkins has bounced in and out of L.A.’s lineup. This year, however, he won a training camp competition against Storm Norton to commandeer the right tackle gig. Pipkins has started every Chargers game this season. Norton, last year’s primary right-side starter, replaced him Sunday. The Chargers are already playing shorthanded up front, with Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater likely out for the season due to a biceps tear.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/22

November 5th, 2022 at 8:51pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Promoted: OT Kion Smith

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

AFC West Notes: Broncos, Toney, Chargers

November 5th, 2022 at 2:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

To help create cap space as they acquired Bradley Chubb‘s fifth-year option salary (initially), the Dolphins included Chase Edmonds‘ two-year, $12MM deal in their Tuesday trade with the Broncos. Edmonds joins a Denver backfield already housing veterans in Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray. Gordon’s up-and-down Broncos tenure has now included a demotion, effectively, with Murray playing a big role since being signed off the Saints’ practice squad. Fumbles have continued to plague Gordon in 2022, leading to the reduced workload despite a starting role. Broncos GM George Paton said the Edmonds trade would not affect Gordon’s starter status, calling the former Cardinals change-of-pace back “another piece to the puzzle.” It will be interesting to see how the Broncos proceed once Mike Boone is ready to return from IR. The team has five injury activations remaining this season.

Midway through his eighth season, Gordon (75 carries, 263 yards, four fumbles) is on pace for career lows in totes and rushing yards. Edmonds is on Denver’s 2022 cap sheet at just more than $1.1MM; that number spikes to a nonguaranteed $5.7MM in 2023. Gordon and Murray are both on expiring contracts. Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • The other player coming to the AFC West via pre-deadline trade, Kadarius Toney is expected to make his debut for the Chiefs on Sunday night. Andy Reid pointed to Toney being in uniform against the Titans, via the Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope (on Twitter). Toney has not played since Week 2. After he battled myriad injuries as a rookie, the former Giants first-round pick encountered issues with both hamstrings this season. The mercurial speedster, who has missed 12 career games, will attempt to stay healthy as he joins a Chiefs team that has started to see steady production from its post-Tyreek Hill receiving corps.
  • Shifting to the Chargers‘ receiving corps, Keenan Allen is aiming to avoid a lost season. The Chargers have ruled out their five-time Pro Bowl target due to the hamstring injury he suffered back in Week 1. Allen experienced a setback earlier this season but returned on a limited snap count in Week 7, but the 10th-year veteran said (via ESPN.com’s Lindsey Thiry) he exited the Bolts’ bye week feeling worse than he had before. Allen added that he was not 100% when he played in Week 7 and would not return again until he was full-go. After posting four 1,100-plus-yard seasons over the past five years, Allen has seen his absence hurt Los Angeles’ passing attack — one likely also impacted by the rib injury Justin Herbert suffered earlier this year. Mike Williams is also navigating an extended injury absence due to a high ankle sprain.
  • The hits keep coming for the Chargers. They will be without former first-round defensive lineman Jerry Tillery this week. Brandon Staley said the rotational D-tackle suffered a back injury weightlifting this week. Despite not starting and the Bolts not picking up his fifth-year option, Tillery has played 43% of the team’s defensive snaps this season.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/22

November 3rd, 2022 at 5:39pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/22

October 31st, 2022 at 7:21pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

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