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Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James is one of the league’s best all-around defensive backs, and the AFC West playoff contenders will miss their star for a few months.
On Thursday, Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James became the latest key player on the team to get bitten by the injury bug. James is suffering from a stress fracture in his fifth metatarsal, and while Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn kept quiet yesterday, it appears the safety will miss a few months with this injury.
The NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports that James must undergo surgery on his foot by the famed Dr. Robert Anderson, and he will be out for about three months.
This makes James a candidate for the injured reserve with a designation to return, and he could be back on the Chargers near the end of the season when they make their playoff push. The Chargers are in direct competition with reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, and they’ll be itching to go deeper in the playoffs in 2020 after suffering an embarrassing divisional round loss to the surgically precise Tom Brady and his New England Patriots.
James is a huge key to the Chargers’ improved defense, as he can do absolutely everything at the safety position. He can intercept passes, end running backs, cover tight ends and even rush the passer. The former Florida State star is irreplaceable and the jack of all trades, so Lynn and Gus Bradley must both hope that special teams superstar Adrian Phillips is up to the challenge; they must also come up with a way to gameplan without James.
The Chargers have a promising rookie safety in Nasir Adderley who can help them weather the storm in the meantime. The key will be playing well enough without James and then hoping he’ll be ready in the later weeks to aid the Chargers in their presumable postseason push.