Huge crowd welcomes Chargers to camp, WR Williams expected to miss all of it

Training camp is underway for the Los Angeles Chargers.

The team opened its first camp at the Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, California on Sunday in front of a big crowd. As reported by Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com, a bout 5,000 fans were waiting to watch the Bolts practice.

That has to taken as a terrific sign for a new in a new city looking to establish an identity amongst a new group of NFL fans.

It was also the first practice for new head coach Anthony Lynn, who was thrilled by the crowd that turned out.

“The fan support and energy was really nice. We thank the fans for coming out and supporting us today. We’re going to do our best to put a team out on the field that they can appreciate”, Lynn told Williams.

However, the news wasn’t all good.

In what is becoming a troubling saga, Mike Williams, the No. 7 overall pick of the draft, has been battling a back injury that kept him out of rookie mini-camp and now, according to a report from Kevin Patra of NFL.com, he’ll likely miss the team’s entire training camp.

That means he will also likely miss all of the team’s preseason games, and fans will have to wonder how far into the regular season his absence will extend.

However, if you’ve been following Williams’ injury status, this news should hardly come as a surprise.

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The Chargers will have to make do with the receivers they have, which includes a healthy Keenan Allen, Tyrell Williams, Dontrelle Inman and Travis Benjamin. The team will be able to get by without Williams, which will again bring into question the idea to draft him in the first place.

We are steamrolling toward the start of the 2017 NFL season and things aren’t going to slow down for Williams, who could be so far behind by the time he is ready to take the field that it will be impossible for him to be a factor this year.

That’s a harsh statement to make, but not one that is out of the realm of possibilities at all.

The Chargers will return to the practice field for day two of training camp at 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning.