Derwin James‘ season is over. The Chargers safety will need 6-8 months of recovery time following meniscus surgery, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. On Wednesday morning, the Chargers made it official by placing James on injured reserve.
[RELATED: Chargers Not Pursuing Earl Thomas]
James went down with a knee injury during Sunday’s practice and the Bolts knew immediately that it was serious. There was some hope that James could have gotten by with a trim of the meniscus, which would have kept him out until October. Unfortunately, he’ll require a full repair, which will necessitate a full season on the sidelines.
James, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2018 draft, registered three interceptions, 13 passes defensed, and 3.5 sacks as a rookie in 2018. Since that debut – which earned him a First-Team All-Pro nod – James has been plagued by injuries. Last year, a stress fracture to the fifth metatarsal of his right foot limited him to just five games. Now, James has lost his entire would-be third season.
The Chargers will now evaluate their in-house options to replace James, a group that includes Desmond King, Alohi Gilman, and 2019 second-round pick Nasir Adderly. Naturally, the Bolts were instantly connected to free agent Earl Thomas on Sunday afternoon, but head coach Anthony Lynn says he’s not interested. On the plus side, the Chargers still have plenty of talent in their secondary thanks to Casey Hayward, Desmond King, and new arrival Chris Harris.
Huge loss for their defense. When healthy, Derwin James quickly showed he is one of the top, most versatile safeties in the game today. He has all the ability in the world, but as the saying goes the most important ability is availability.
6-8 months for a meniscus?
A full meniscus tear takes several months to recover from just to walk again. Unable to bend the knee for a long while. Crutches. Then 6 months before playing any sports again to ensure a full recovery.
TLDR: The more time you allow to recover, the better off the knee will be.
It’s time for Adderly to step up and live up to his draft status. After taking a backseat in an injury-riddled rookie season, he’ll be pressed into action next to a solid contributor in Jenkins.
If that doesn’t work out, the Chargers could roll with King at safety and move Harris back to nickel. You’d have to rely on an inconsistent option in Davis on the outside, but it could work.
You could consult Thomas, but it doesn’t sound as though Lynn wants to deal with the toxic lockerroom ramifications. He could potentially replicate the talent of James, but at what cost? On the other hand, Thomas would be reunited with Gus Bradley, so a signing wouldn’t be off the table
That’s probably why Lynn is not interested. I’m sure Bradley has given his two cents.If Bradley had glowing reviews of Thomas I’m sure he would’ve already been signed.