If Russell Okung misses time, who is the next man up?
By Travis Wakeman
The injury (or illness?) situation for Los Angeles Chargers starting left tackle Russell Okung has gotten even cloudier.
The veteran will provide an injury update Thursday and at that time, things will likely be more clear. However, reports have already surfaced that Okung could miss all of training camp.
Hopefully, things are cleared up on Thursday, but why a special announcement? Why isn’t the team releasing a statement? Is there a serious issue here that Okung wants to reveal himself?
Those questions will soon be answered, but the question that will follow is who will be pegged as the guy to replace him in the lineup? If he misses all of camp, this player will, at the very least, take first-team reps all summer.
The guy the Chargers would like to see step up more than anyone else would be Forrest Lamp. If he could live up to his pre-draft hype, the 2017 second-round pick could go from a guy who couldn’t even get on the field to one of the most important positions on it.
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But for a guy who was a healthy scratch nearly all of last season, that seems like a big leap.
The other option would be Trent Scott. Undrafted out of Grambling State last season, Scott gave the team more than it ever expected out of him as a rookie. He played in nine games last season and made one start. That start came at left tackle, in place of an injured Okung.
As much as many fans wouldn’t like to hear it, at this particular point, Scott would have a better shot of getting the job than would Lamp. Of course, another option would be to insert one of these players into the starting lineup and shift another current starter over to Philip Rivers‘ blindside.
All of this could be moot if Okung reveals that he won’t miss a considerable amount of time.