The Chargers suffered a huge blow in Week 3's win over the Minnesota Vikings as star receiver Mike Williams tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2023 season. With Williams' bloated 2023 cap hit and the team's salary-cap situation, he may have played his last-ever game with the Bolts.
It did not take long for the Chargers to fill Williams' spot on the active roster as the team signed Simi Fehoko (cousin of Breiden Fehoko) from the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. Fehoko reunites with Kellen Moore, who was the Cowboys' offensive coordinator when Dallas drafted Fehoko in 2021.
Fehoko is not going to be forced into a prominent role in Los Angeles. He is merely going to be a depth option behind the likes of Keenan Allen, Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis. It would be surprising to see Fehoko get targets in Week 4's game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
That being said, the Fehoko signing may still have big implications for the Chargers. The fact that the team went out and signed a player from another team's practice squad is not a great sign for another Bolts receiver that fans thought they would be seeing soon.
Chargers signing Simi Fehoko is bad news for Jalen Guyton
Jalen Guyton is recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered in Week 3 of the 2022 season. Guyton was placed on the PUP list to start the 2023 season and could have returned to action after the bye in Week 6.
By being placed on the PUP list, Guyton was forced to miss at least four games. With the Chargers having a bye week in Week 5, it seemingly lined up perfectly for the speedy receiver to return in Week 6 when the Chargers take on the Cowboys.
Signing Fehoko complicates that. It seems unlikely that the Chargers would use the roster space and money required to sign Fehoko to only play one game. If Guyton is really going to return in Week 6 there will not be room for Fehoko on the roster as there are not any other positions the Chargers can trim a roster spot from.
If Guyton was on pace to return in Week 6 then the Chargers could have just utilized a practice squad elevation in Week 4 against the Raiders. Keelan Doss, who had a good preseason and has special teams value, could have been elevated in Week 4 to bridge the gap for now until Guyton can return.
That is obviously not the direction the Chargers went in, which could mean one of two things. First, Guyton may not actually return in Week 6, marking the importance of bringing Fehoko in so he can provide depth for multiple weeks. Or, the Chargers simply brought Fehoko in to get some kind of intel on Dallas ahead of Week 6. But with Moore on the staff, that reason seems unlikely.