After suffering a shoulder injury against the Atlanta Falcons, the Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said that rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey was “working through a couple [of] things.”
Harbaugh, who has been cagey about sharing injury specifics, has used this kind of language before this season and it typically is not good news. Both Joey Bosa and J.K. Dobbins were “working through something” before missing time.
Chargers Top WR To Practice After Suffering Injury Vs. Falcons
But ahead of their practice slate preparing for the second game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Harbaugh announced that he expects McConkey to practice today “in some form or fashion.”
This news has outsized importance as McConkey has emerged as one of the few reliable pass catchers for Justin Herbert this year. McConkey’s 815 receiving yards account for nearly 32 percent of Herbert’s 2578 passing yards and 34 percent of the team’s passing first downs.
The Chargers will already be without top running back J.K. Dobbins, who is on injured reserve with a sprained MCL. Together they account for 46 percent of all the Chargers’ offensive yards from scrimmage this season.
This isn’t McConkey’s first time dealing with injury this season. McConkey suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of Sunday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He first cropped up on the report after injuring his hip early on against the Denver Broncos in Week 6. He was limited and missed some practice for the next three weeks — not returning to full action until just before the Cleveland Browns game in Week 9, although he did play a full snap load in those games.
Harbaugh also announced that linebacker Denzel Perryman and cornerback Cam Hart would also practice ‘in some form or fashion’ today. They are also opening rookie linebacker Junior Colson’s IR 21-day return window.
