Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Chargers Edge Joey Bosa is questionable for Sunday's game against the Titans. He missed the first two practices with a hamstring injury. Bosa returned to the field Friday and was officially limited. But NFL Network's Bridget Condon reported that he worked off to the side with no helmet. That doesn't sound like a guy who's ready to come back for the game. Set your IDP lineup as though Bosa won't be available this week. We'll see what else we learn ahead of Sunday's kickoff. The combo of Bosa's injury and multiple injuries at LB should downgrade the Chargers' team D for Week 2.

The Chargers list LB Eric Kendricks (hamstring) as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Titans. His expected absence will leave LB Kenneth Murray calling the defensive plays. The Chargers will also miss rookie LB Daiyan Henley (hamstring) for the second straight game. That leaves the replacement plan unclear. Some combo of Nick Niemann and Amen Ogbongbemiga will fill in. Murray is the only Chargers LB worth considering for IDP lineups. And even he shouldn't be a priority. Murray continued to play poorly in Week 1. If you play in a deep IDP league, Henley -- a third-round rookie -- might be worth stashing, on the chance he takes over a starting spot at some point this year.

Chargers Edge Joey Bosa missed Wednesday's practice with a hamstring injury. We'll see about his status the rest of the week, ahead of Sunday's matchup with Tennessee.

Chargers LB Kenneth Murray has looked like a bust through three NFL seasons, after the team drafted him in Round 1 in 2020. The Chargers declined the fifth-year option on Murray's rookie contract this April. But new DC Derrick Ansley is hopeful. “This is really going to be the year, I think, he can break out,” Ansley told The Athletic's Daniel Popper. New LBs coach Jeff Howard also made a point of connecting with Murray early, and they've made a point to simplify Murray's duties within the scheme. The LB, meanwhile, is coming off his first full, healthy offseason since entering the pros. That can only help. And veteran LB Eric Kendricks has reportedly mentored Murray since arriving as a free-agent this offseason. Murray should be so far down IDP draft boards -- likely even going undrafted in many leagues -- that he carries only upside as a fantasy prospect. We've added him to our IDP rankings after initially leaning toward rookie Daiyan Henley as the likely starter next to Kendricks.

The Chargers have agreed to a two-year, $13.25 million deal with LB Eric Kendricks, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The Vikings released Kendricks earlier this offseason to free up cap space. His arrival to L.A. comes with last year's lead LB, Drue Tranquill, still on the open market. So Kendricks looks like the best bet to lead the LB corps in 2023 playing time. There's still room for Tranquill to come back and play a significant role. If he doesn't and the Chargers don't make any other significant additions at off-ball LB, then Kenneth Murray could get one final starting shot in the fourth year of his rookie contract. We'd be quite surprised if L.A. picks up the fifth-year option on the highly disappointing former first-round pick. Expect Kendricks to land inside the top 30 when our 2023 IDP rankings drop.

The Chargers plan to activate EDGE Joey Bosa (groin) from IR ahead of Sunday's game against the Rams, HC Brandon Staley told reporters Friday, according to NFL Network's Bridget Condon. Getting Bosa back can certainly only help the defense, but he hasn't played since Week 3. So it'll be tough to trust Bosa in IDP lineups right away. We won't be adding him to the Week 17 IDP rankings.

As expected, Chargers S Derwin James won't be suspended for the hit that got him ejected from Monday night's win over the Colts. The play did put him -- as well as WR Ashton Dulin -- into the concussion protocol, though. So James will have to pass through that before getting back onto the field. We'll see whether he can do so ahead of Sunday's game against the Rams.

Chargers S Derwin James was ejected from Monday night's game against the Colts for a hit in the 2nd quarter. He lowered his helmet and drove head-first into Colts WR Ashton Dulin, who left the field immediately after for a concussion check. We wouldn't bet on the league adding a suspension, so expect to have James back for Week 17.

Chargers S Derwin James (quad) got back to full practice participation Friday for the 1st time since Week 13. That should put him in line to start Monday night against the Colts. We probably won't get the game-status report for that one before the 1 p.m. ET kickoffs on Saturday, but we'd recommend trying to wait on James instead of playing a lesser guy in 1 of those games.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley told reporters Monday that he hopes to get S Derwin James (groin) back at practice this week. James has missed the past 2 games. We'll keep an eye on his status leading up to a Monday night visit to the Colts.

Chargers S Derwin James (quad) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Titans. A 2nd straight missed game for James would put S Alohi Gilman in the starting lineup again but for a negative scoring matchup. We've added Gilman to the Week 15 IDP rankings.

Chargers S Derwin James (quad) is doubtful for Sunday's game against the Dolphins. CB Bryce Callahan (groin) is doubtful as well, leaving the secondary likely without 2 starters against an explosive Miami passing game.

Chargers S Derwin James missed Wednesday's practice with a quad injury. HC Brandon Staley called him day-to-day, according to ESPN's Lindsey Thiry. We'll have to track James' status throughout the week. His absence would be big for Week 14 IDP lineups.

Chargers LB Drue Tranquill (illness) and S Nasir Adderley (thumb) are active for today's game against the Raiders.

Chargers S Derwin James (hip) sat out of Wednesday's practice. He played ever snap of Sunday's win over the Cardinals, and we haven't seen any report since of a worrisome injury. So we'd bet on this being more of a rest day. But we'll track James' status through the week.

Chargers CB Michael Davis (knee) is active for today's game against the Cardinals. He's a low-level IDP but has been a full-time player over the past 3 games.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley said Wednesday that EDGE Joey Bosa is getting close to returning to the field. Might he make it back for this Sunday's matchup against the 49ers and his brother Nick? "I just know that he's back in the building," Staley told reporters. "He's not there for practice yet. We'll let you know when he's going to come back to practice. He is in good spirits. I think that we're getting closer to that practice point, just don't know exactly when that is going to be." That doesn't seem to point to Bosa being ready for Week 10. But he's worth stashing -- where it makes sense -- in IDP leagues now ahead of a potential Week 11 return. Bosa has been out since Week 3 with a groin injury that required surgery.

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks and will miss the rest of the season. We'll see about his status as the 2023 season approaches. Jackson had been performing disappointingly early in the year, so his departure from the lineup doesn't meaningfully alter the fantasy football matchup going forward.

Chargers DT Sebastian Joseph-Day (ankle) is active for today's game against the Seahawks.

The Chargers pulled CB J.C. Jackson in the 2nd half of Monday night's OT win over the Broncos, opting for Michael Davis in his place. "It just wasn't good enough in the first half, and we felt like we needed to make a change," HC Brandon Staley said afterward, according to Chargers Wire. Jackson committed a 21-yard PI penalty on Courtland Sutton in the 1st quarter and later played a key role in TE Greg Dulcich getting open for his TD catch. We'll see about the team's plan at that corner spot for a Week 7 date with Seattle.