LA Chargers fans have to wait a bit longer until they can see Mike Williams catch passes from Justin Herbert again. The Chargers placed Williams and four others on the Physically unable to perform (PUP) list Monday ahead of training camp.
Williams will sit out of training camp activities for the time being while the Chargers utilize those reps for other players on the roster. The veteran wideout can come off the PUP list at any point in time and the hope is that the Chargers are merely being cautious.
As unlucky as this is for Williams and the Chargers, the wideout's exclusion from team activities represents an opportunity for others on the depth chart. With second-round pick Tre Harris also in a contract holdout, there are plenty of reps to go around for players who desperately need them.
No one receiver on the team is going to benefit from this more than 2024 seventh-round pick, Brenden Rice.
Brenden Rice now has a wide-open runway to save his Chargers' career
Rice, the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, finds himself on the outside looking in heading into Chargers training camp. The former USC Trojan is one of several wideouts competing for a final roster spot and seems as if the Chargers already have his bags packed.
That is no longer the case as Rice now has the opportunity to control his own destiny. With Williams watching from the sideline and Harris embroiled in contract negotiations, Rice has the chance to prove his worth during drills with the first team.
Both Williams and Harris should be ready to rock for Week 1 of the 2025 season, so it's not like Rice is going to earn his spot in the starting lineup. However, with those guys out of action, Rice can prove himself over the other wideouts who may currently have an edge.
It couldn't have worked out better for Rice, who will only make the team is he can prove to be a valuable depth X receiver who can also contribute on special teams. Williams and Harris are the top two X receivers on the team. With both guys out, the Chargers need someone whose skillset can fit the schematic elements of being an X receiver. Rice is that guy.
There is no guarantee that this gets Rice a roster spot ahead of Week 1. He still has to go out and prove that he deserves his spot on the 53-man roster.
However, now Rice has the runway to succeed in a way that would have been much more turbulent if Williams and Harris were taking a lion share of the snaps with the first-team offense.