The familiar injury bug is hovering over Chargers camp
By Travis Wakeman
Los Angeles Chargers fans are all too familiar with injuries to key players. Many fans would swear the team is snakebitten.
A talented roster can become quickly decimated when a few key players go down to injury, and the season-ending ACL tear suffered by tight end Hunter Henry way back in OTAs could be a bad omen.
First-round pick Derwin James was hobbled to start camp and rookie wide receiver Dylan Cantrell suffered a bone bruise that at one point, had him on crutches.
On Tuesday, things nearly took a devastating turn when Joey Bosa, arguably the best player on the team, left practice with a foot injury. Initial reports have stated that luckily, it doesn’t seem to be anything serious.
Rookie defensive tackle Justin Jones also left with an ankle injury. To this point, there’s no update on the severity of that, but by nearly all accounts, he’s had a tremendous camp.
It’s not going to be one of those seasons again, is it?
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In recent years, it hasn’t been as hard to digest as the team was expected to produce mediocre results. This season, expectations are sky high, even if the national media hasn’t recognized that yet.
There is no timetable for Cantrell’s return, but it’s hard to imagine him playing in the team’s first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night. If he misses an extended period of time, his chances of making the 53-man roster will be slim, which is a shame, as he was having a solid camp.
The good news is that Bosa escaped serious injury, but it’s almost impossible to believe the amount of injury news this team gets hit with on a yearly basis.
That injury bug followed the team from San Diego to Los Angeles and now, it’s time for it to fly off in another direction.