The LA Chargers waited many weeks for the return of wide receiver DJ Chark. Prior to this Sunday's game in which he was finally on the active gameday roster, Chark spent nearly the first two months of the season on IR as he dealt with hip and groin injuries.
Sunday's game was not quite the coming out party for the veteran wideout that some thought it could be. Chark played just one snap on a run blocking play and was the least utilized offensive player by snap count on the roster.
Harbaugh was asked by The Athletic's Daniel Popper on whether the decision to play Chark less was related to continuing to work through his injury recovery. Harbaugh's answer seems to indicate that they simply like playing other wideouts on the roster more:
Jim Harbaugh's comments don't bode well for Chargers receiver D.J. Chark
"Yeah, I would say it's more of an affirmation of what the receiver room is doing as a whole," Harbaugh explained.
Harbaugh then rattled off names in the wide receiver room that have impressed him. He started off by saying that Sunday was rookie WR Ladd McConkey's best game from a technique standpoint and as a blocker. Harbaugh then described both Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston as players that are "ascending" and getting "better and better".
None of those players being higher than Chark in usage and on the depth chart should come as a surprised. But Harbaugh also brought up former practice squad wide receiver Jalen Reagor as someone who has seemingly earned playing time over Chark.
"The other guy I'm just thrilled with is Jalen Reagor," Harbaugh added. "Football player. He made a contribution on special teams. Block, catch, getting in the right spot. I know it was a negative, ended up being a tackle for loss, but that's probably the best catch and run for a tackle for loss I've seen in a long time."
"I'm just super pleased with how those guys were playing," Harbaugh said of McConkey, Palmer, Johnston, and Reagor. "And it just wasn't an opportunity to take of them out of the rotation."
It's worth noting the Chargers' top line wideouts that Harbaugh mentioned have dealt with injuries throughout the season. McConkey had a hip issue that landed him on the injury report for a few weeks. Johnston and Palmer have missed games this season with ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Considering the nature of the NFL, Chark may not be as far away from significant offensive snaps as is currently thought. The Chargers also have wideouts Simi Fehoko and Brenden Rice both on IR.
The Chargers' wide receiver room will attempt to keep pace with an offensively scorching Cincinnati team coming to SoFi for Sunday Night Football this week.