Chargers place Trevor Williams on IR, sign Dontae Johnson

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 24: Dontae Johnson #36 of the San Francisco 49ers returns an interception for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars during their NFL football game at Levi's Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 24: Dontae Johnson #36 of the San Francisco 49ers returns an interception for a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars during their NFL football game at Levi's Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

While there was optimism Trevor Williams may have been able to return soon, he’s now officially headed to IR, with Dontae Johnson joining the Chargers in a corresponding move.

Former San Francisco 49ers corner Dontae Johnson was signed on Wednesday as Trevor Williams was sent to the IR. While there was some guarded optimism that Williams could be returning to the Chargers soon, it turns out it was mostly for not.

Signing a corner was necessary not only due to the injury of Williams, but also the hamstring injury Michael Davis suffered in the first week against the Indianapolis Colts. Johnson isn’t the worst depth pick up the Chargers could’ve gotten, as he does have 22 starts in his career. The situation from now until Davis comes back will be having Brandon Facyson and Casey Hayward at left and right corner, respectively.

The big question: How do these recovery times play out from here? Anthony Lynn stated Davis will be out for some time, which is vague. But, he’s not being put on IR, so it’s clearly not too bad. Williams is a question mark all around since no one really knows what his injury is, other than that it involves his quad. It seems more extreme than Davis’ injury though, especially if the team is considering IR this early on. Davis’ injury also probably sped up the process of Williams going to the IR with the Chargers needing to go grab another corner.

One idea that was brought up yesterday was bringing up Kemon Hall from the practice squad, but as of yesterday, Hall was released:

According to NFL transaction report, the Chargers released DB Kemon Hall from the practice squad.

— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) September 10, 2019

The injury bug hasn’t been kind to the Chargers in 2019, with Hunter Henry’s new left knee fracture, Russell Okung’s pulmonary embolism, and Derwin James’ stress fracture. The holdout of Melvin Gordon also continues while all these injuries go on. Williams is a tough injury to swallow considering how thin the secondary is now, but the Chargers will have to put the best team possible out there vs. Detroit on Sunday. Let’s see how that game goes.

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