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Los Angeles Chargers News & Rumors

NFL Injury Updates: Herbert, Bullard, Prater

December 11th, 2024 at 9:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers are 8-5 under new head coach Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff, good for second place in the AFC West and the sixth seed in the AFC. Harbaugh gave the media an update today that could spell trouble for the team hoping to make a playoff push and run, per Alex Insdorf of the Guilty as Charged podcast.

According to Harbaugh, quarterback Justin Herbert is dealing with a leg contusion as well as a sprained left ankle this week. Harbaugh claimed that Herbert is “doing everything and anything in his power to play on Sunday,” hinting that practicing was a possibility today, but ultimately, Herbert was not a participant in today’s practice.

Herbert had been the picture of health, starting every game since his debut until missing the final four games of last year. Los Angeles will hope that he doesn’t need to miss much time, if any, and that he’ll be able to help them close out the season as a playoff team.

Here are a few other injury updates from around the league:

  • Packers safety Javon Bullard left the locker room this Sunday on crutches after suffering a right ankle injury. After undergoing MRI testing today, it was determined that the injury was not guaranteed to be long-term. There is still a risk that Bullard may miss time, as he’s been designated as week-to-week, per ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
  • We’ve been reporting on the injury of Cardinals veteran kicker Matt Prater this season and the possibility of his return without much understanding of his injury. Last we had heard, Prater’s knee injury was not considered season-ending despite all the time missed already. Josh Weinfuss of ESPN finally shed some light on the situation, reporting that Prater has been recovering from meniscus surgery to his left knee. This is far more clarity than the “soreness” designation that had been prevalent earlier in the season and gives us a better idea of what Prater is working through to return to the field.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/10/24

December 10th, 2024 at 8:46pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: LB K.J Cloyd

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins has made just 64.0% of his field goal attempts this season, which includes two misses from inside 40 yards. Patterson kicked for Cleveland when Hopkins was injured at the end of last season, and his addition to the practice squad indicates that head coach Kevin Stefanski is considering a similar change this year.

The Titans signed Narveson as insurance for starter Nick Folk, who is dealing with an injury, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Narveson began the season as the Packers’ kicker, but after missing five of his 12 field goal attempts, all of which came inside of 50 yards.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/7/24

December 7th, 2024 at 8:17pm CST by Ely Allen

Saturday’s minor transactions, including gameday practice squad elevations:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Eagles starting tight end Dallas Goedert has been placed on injured reserve, so Jenkins will come up from the practice squad for a little added depth.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/5/24

December 5th, 2024 at 8:04pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest practice squad transactions from around the NFL:

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

The Seahawks waived Shenault on Monday after being a non-factor on offense all year. He played just 45 offensive snaps across 11 games, but carved out a role on special teams with 168 snaps between returns and coverage. Shenault was Seattle’s primary kick returner for much of the year with an average of 28.7 yards per return. His 97-yard touchdown in Week 6 was one of the league’s six kickoff return scores this season.

However, the Seahawks had to make room for Uchenna Nwosu‘s activation from injured reserve. He will get another chance in Los Angeles where he could quickly factor into the special teams picture.

AFC West Notes: Moss, Raiders, Chargers

December 5th, 2024 at 3:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Broncos were able to contain Jerry Jeudy when they opted to use All-Pro Patrick Surtain on their former receiver, the first-year Browns contributor otherwise preyed on the team’s primary Riley Moss replacement during a dominant Monday-night showing. Free agency addition Levi Wallace struggled mightily, leading to a late-game benching and exposing an issue for a Broncos defense that had entered the game as one of the NFL’s best. The Broncos have seen Moss deliver quality play in his first season as a starter, but an MCL sprain sidelined him for Week 13. It is not certain Moss will be ready to return after Denver’s bye week.

The 2023 third-round pick is slated to need “a couple” weeks to return, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler pointing to a re-emergence against the Colts next week being in play but perhaps not a certainty. A two-week absence from an MCL sprain would be on the short end as far as recoveries go. A long-term lens reveals the Broncos nabbing an important contributor in Moss, given the looks the team’s non-Surtain corners see, but a woeful coverage effort Monday exposes a short-term issue for the wild-card contender. Denver used fifth-round rookie Kris Abrams-Draine, making his season debut, late in the game, playing him ahead of third-year cog Damarri Mathis.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • When Antonio Pierce fired OC Luke Getsy, the Raiders installed Scott Turner as the interim play-caller. They also brought veteran Norv Turner out of retirement, with Scott indicating (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez) he spearheaded that effort. Norv, a three-time HC and Super Bowl-winning OC, had been out of the NFL since 2020. The 72-year-old coach is currently staying with his son in Las Vegas, as the Raiders attempt to find solutions on offense amid a rough season.
  • Norv Turner makes three former HCs on Pierce’s Vegas staff, joining Joe Philbin and Marvin Lewis. The Raiders also kept DC Patrick Graham around from Josh McDaniels‘ brief HC run while adding Getsy — the team’s second choice for OC after Kliff Kingsbury backed out during negotiations — as the top voice on offense. Getsy’s quick firing and how Pierce pieced his first staff together has drawn some internal pessimism, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Not having much NFL coaching experience nor possessing any college HC seasoning made Pierce a historic outlier in terms of NFL HCs, and it limited his coaching tree’s reach. Pierce leaned on his former Giants HC, Tom Coughlin, for guidance in assembling his first staff. Thus far, the Raiders are 2-10, having lost eight straight. Regardless of players’ push to have Pierce move to HC, Mark Davis is likely considering making the former interim boss a one-and-done as the full-time leader.
  • Ladd McConkey is battling two sprains presently. The blossoming Chargers rookie has been playing through an AC joint sprain, with Fowler adding he picked up a knee sprain against the Falcons. Jim Harbaugh was vague about the second-round wideout’s status for Sunday’s Chiefs rematch, but McConkey did log a limited practice Wednesday. McConkey, whom the team traded up for in April, has 401 more receiving yards (815) than the next-closest Charger.
  • J.K. Dobbins will not be part of the Chargers-Chiefs rematch, being placed on IR due to a sprained knee. Prior to going down, however, the resurgent running back picked up a $150K bonus by clearing 600 rushing yards for the season, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The injury-prone RB signed a one-year, $1.61MM deal this offseason. The team has Gus Edwards, tied to a more lucrative deal, and sixth-round rookie Kimani Vidal as its top backs on the 53-man roster.

Chargers Designate LB Junior Colson For Return

December 4th, 2024 at 8:58pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like Junior Colson will soon resume his rookie season. The Chargers linebacker is expected to return to practice this week, coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters (including Daniel Popper of The Athletic).

[RELATED: Chargers Place Junior Colson On IR]

Colson suffered an ankle injury in Week 9 that’s sidelined him for the past four weeks. Based on Harbaugh’s comments today, there’s a chance the player only requires a minimum stay on injured reserve. The Chargers will have 21 days to activate the rookie to the active roster.

A former standout at Michigan, the linebacker was selected in the third round of this past year’s draft. Thanks to an unrelated hamstring injury that knocked him out for Week 3 and Week 4, Colson has only made six appearances this season. In three of those games, he exceeded a 50-percent snap count, and he collected 11 of his 14 tackles during that stretch.

Colson could be in line for some playing time during the stretch run of the season. Daiyan Henley will continue to lead the depth chart, but the rookie should compete with Denzel Perryman (who is nursing his own groin injury) for leftover snaps. Colson’s return could also knock Troy Dye to mostly a special teams role.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/3/24

December 3rd, 2024 at 7:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

With Trevor Lawrence currently in concussion protocol, the Jaguars have added some QB depth to the organization. John Wolford brings four games of starting experience to Jacksonville, all coming with the Rams between 2020 and 2022. The Wake Forest product went 2-2 in those appearances, tossing one touchdown vs. five interceptions. He’ll slide in behind Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard in the franchise’s QB pecking order.

The Eagles added a veteran fullback to their roster in Khari Blasingame. The 28-year-old has appeared in 66 games since entering the league in 2019, collecting 131 yards from scrimmage on 24 carries. The Eagles recently lost part-time fullback Ben VanSumeren for the season, opening a role for a handful of blocking snaps per game.

Chargers Place RB J.K. Dobbins, S Alohi Gilman On IR

November 30th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers continue to deal with injuries in the running game, placing a running back on injured reserve for the second time this year. A couple weeks after the return of Gus Edwards from IR, J.K. Dobbins has been placed on the injured list. Joining Dobbins in an absence of at least four weeks is safety Alohi Gilman.

It’s frustrating news for Dobbins, who will fail to play a healthy, full season for the first time since his rookie year. Dobbins missed a game with a COVID-19 designation in his rookie season and, since then, has missed the entire 2021 season, nine games the following year, and 16 games last year. Through 12 weeks this season, it finally looked like Dobbins was going to put together a full season. Instead, the 25-year-old will miss the next four games, at least, with a sprained MCL. He’ll hope to come back for a potential playoff run at the end of the season.

Gilman is dealing with a hamstring injury that will cause him to miss his first game of the season since Week 2. Gilman’s in the first year of a new contract, after securing an extension by grading out as the seventh-best safety in the league last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Gilman has slumped in 2024, ranking 80th out of 89 graded safeties, per PFF. He’ll hope to make a return late in the season to try and turn things around.

The Chargers will fill one of the two vacated roster spots by signing veteran safety Tony Jefferson to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. The 32-year-old has extensive starting experience and has appeared in three games this year for Los Angeles. He’ll likely be included in the plan to replace Gilman over the next several weeks.

The team also named cornerback Dicaprio Bootle and linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste as standard gameday practice squad elevations for this weekend.

Chargers Claim S Marcus Maye

November 27th, 2024 at 3:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marcus Maye will join a fourth NFL team, not reaching free agency after the Dolphins waived him. The veteran safety is on his way to Los Angeles.

The former Jets, Saints and Dolphins defender did not make it past the Chargers on the waiver wire, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Maye is due just more than $400K over the season’s remainder. To make room for Maye on the roster, Pelissero notes the Bolts placed Eli Apple on IR.

Miami became the second franchise to cut Maye this year, following New Orleans, who used Maye’s deal as help toward cap compliance during an annual journey for the NFC South club. Maye played 11 games for the Dolphins. This has marked the first year the former second-round pick has not been a regular starter, but Miami used him on 293 defensive plays. Pro Football Focus graded Maye as having bounced back from a down 2023, slotting him 21st among safeties this season.

Maye’s stock soared in 2021, as the Jets — after trading Jamal Adams months earlier — franchise-tagged him. It has not reached that level since. An Achilles tear and DUI arrest plagued Maye during his final months as a Jet. New York let Maye walk in 2022, and New Orleans signed off on a three-year, $22.5MM deal. Maye, 31, did not live up to that pact; most notably, he missed 10 games in 2023 due to injury and a suspension. The Dolphins used Maye as a third safety alongside Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer this season.

Wednesday’s claim does mark an interesting bounce-back effort for Maye, as other veteran safeties recently cut — Adams, Eddie Jackson — have not found new homes yet. Maye will join a Chargers team that employs the NFL’s second-highest-paid safety (Derwin James) along with recently re-signed sidekick Alohi Gilman. The latter missed practice Wednesday. Trade pickup Elijah Molden also plays a regular role in the Bolts’ secondary, potentially making Maye an overqualified insurance option.

Maye has started 80 of the 88 career games he has played. He will now step into a high-end defense, with Jesse Minter elevating the unit from 24th in points allowed in 2023 to first through 11 games this season. This represents an interesting opportunity for Maye, who figures to play an auxiliary role for a playoff contender. Apple played in four Chargers games, seeing action on 47 defensive plays.

2024 NFL Dead Money, By Team

November 27th, 2024 at 12:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Giants making the decision to waive Daniel Jones, rather than keep him around ahead of a potential 2025 post-June 1 cut designation, changed their dead money outlook for this year and next. Here is how their new total fits in with the rest of the teams’ numbers for dead money — cap space allocated to players no longer on the roster — entering the final third of the regular season. Numbers courtesy of OverTheCap.

  1. Denver Broncos: $85.21MM
  2. New York Giants: $79.57MM
  3. Minnesota Vikings: $69.83MM
  4. Buffalo Bills: $68.47MM
  5. Carolina Panthers: $68.28MM
  6. Green Bay Packers: $65.53MM
  7. Tennessee Titans: $62.89MM
  8. Philadelphia Eagles: $61.95MM
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $60.64MM
  10. New Orleans Saints: $59.44MM
  11. New York Jets: $59.24MM
  12. Los Angeles Chargers: $58.62MM
  13. New England Patriots: $53.37MM
  14. Miami Dolphins: $52.28MM
  15. Seattle Seahawks: $52MM
  16. Jacksonville Jaguars: $51.2MM
  17. Las Vegas Raiders: $49.37MM
  18. Washington Commanders: $42.81MM
  19. Houston Texans: $39.28MM
  20. Cleveland Browns: $38.79MM
  21. Los Angeles Rams: $34.63MM
  22. Detroit Lions: $33.71MM
  23. Pittsburgh Steelers: $30.18MM
  24. Chicago Bears: $29.65MM
  25. Arizona Cardinals: $29.35MM
  26. San Francisco 49ers: $26.91MM
  27. Dallas Cowboys: $26.79MM
  28. Baltimore Ravens: $21.35MM
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: $12.65MM
  30. Indianapolis Colts: $11.8MM
  31. Atlanta Falcons: $11.55MM
  32. Cincinnati Bengals: $9.11MM

The Jones release moved more than $13MM of dead cap onto the Giants’ 2024 payroll. More significantly, the Giants granting Jones an early exit — after a contract-driven benching — will prevent the team from designating him a post-June 1 cut next year. The Giants will take on $22.2MM in dead money in 2025, rather than being able to split that bill over two offseasons. The team also took on more than $10MM in dead money this year due to the 2023 Leonard Williams trade.

This year’s most egregious dead money offender has been known for months. The Broncos’ contract-driven Russell Wilson benching last year preceded a historic release, which saddled the team with more than $83MM in total dead money. A small cap credit is set to come in 2025 (via Wilson’s veteran-minimum Pittsburgh pact), but for this year, $53MM in dead cap hit Denver’s payroll as a result of the the quarterback’s release.

The Broncos more than doubled the previous single-player dead money record, which the Falcons held ($40.5MM) for trading Matt Ryan), and they will be on the hook for the final $30MM-plus in 2025. Beyond Wilson, no other ex-Bronco counts more than $7.5MM in dead money. In terms of total dead cap, however, the Broncos barely check in north of the Buccaneers and Rams’ 2023 totals. Denver is trying to follow those teams’ lead in rallying back to make the playoffs despite nearly a third of its 2024 payroll tied up in dead cap.

Twenty-two players represent dead money for the Saints, who have seen their total updated since the Marshon Lattimore trade. Rather than restructure-crazed GM Mickey Loomis using the Lattimore contract once again to create cap space next year, the Saints will take on the highest non-QB dead money hit in NFL history. Lattimore counts $14MM in that category this year before the contract shifts to a whopping $31.66MM in dead cap on New Orleans’ 2025 payroll. Considering the Saints are again in their own sector for cap trouble next year ($62MM-plus over), the Lattimore trade will create some issues as the team attempts to rebound post-Dennis Allen.

Two 2023 restructures ballooned the Vikings’ figure toward $70MM. Void years on Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter‘s deals combined for more than $43MM in dead money. Minnesota also ate nearly $7MM from the void years on Marcus Davenport‘s one-year contract, while the release of 2022 first-rounder Lewis Cine (currently on the Bills’ practice squad) accounted for more than $5MM.

Free from the Tom Brady dead money that comprised a chunk of their 2023 cap, the Bucs still have eight-figure hits from the Carlton Davis trade and Mike Evans‘ previous contract voiding not long before the sides agreed on a new deal. Elsewhere in the NFC South, three of the players given multiyear deals in 2023 — Vonn Bell, Hayden Hurst, Bradley Bozeman — being moved off the roster in GM Dan Morgan‘s first offseason represent nearly half of Carolina’s dead cap.

 

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