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Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Shark Bites are the latest fantasy football news & NFL updates. Draft Sharks has been in business since 1999. And when we started, redraft was the dominant form of fantasy football. Check out what we've learned about this most basic form of fantasy football along the way.

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.

Chargers EDGE Joey Bosa is having surgery to address a core-muscle injury. The team placed him on IR Wednesday, which means he'll miss at least the next 4 games. We'll see about the expected timeline for his return. Kyle Van Noy and Chris Rumph played elevated edge snaps after Bosa left Sunday's game early

Chargers HC Brandon Staley said Monday that EDGE Joey Bosa is "week to week" after suffering a significant groin injury, according to multiple reports. That explanation makes it appear the team expects Bosa to miss at least 1 game. We'll see beyond that.

Chargers EDGE Joey Bosa left in the 1st half of Sunday's loss to the Jaguars with a groin injury. We'll look for more on his outlook for Week 4 (and perhaps beyond) Monday.

Chargers LB Drue Tranquill (back) is active for today's game against the Raiders. He remains a low-end IDP option, though.

The Chargers list LB Drue Tranquill as questionable for Sunday's game against the Raiders. He turned up on the injury report after hurting his back Friday, which doesn't bode well for his outlook in the opener. Tranquill is listed as a ILB starter on the team's "unofficial" depth chart, next to Kyle Van Noy. His absence would leave room for either Kenneth Murray or Troy Reeder, but we wouldn't plan on using either in Week 1 IDP lineups.

Chargers CB J.C. Jackson had ankle surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks, according to multiple reports. Sounds like a relatively minor procedure, but this timeline obviously could spill over into missed regular-season games.

Chargers S Derwin James took part in team drills Monday for the 1st time in training camp. James had been "holding in" until signing his recent contract extension. It's nice to see his participation ramping up still well ahead of Week 1. James remains the clear top DB in our IDP rankings.

The Chargers on Monday activated LB Kenneth Murray from the PUP list. He opened training camp there after having surgery in April on the injured ankle that ended his 2021 season. The former 1st-round pick is no lock to reclaim a staring job this season after struggling through his 1st year under HC Brandon Staley. Kyle Van Noy and Drue Tranquill have looked like the top 2 non-edge LBs for the Chargers.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley revealed this week that S Derwin James had surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder in February, according to Daniel Popper of The Athletic. The injury originally occurred in the 1st half of Week 3, but James didn't miss any games until weeks 14 and 16 (then for a hamstring issue). The safety has been sitting out of team drills this spring, but Staley calls that "precautionary." James is reportedly back to full health and will be good to go for training camp.

Former Rams DT Sebastian Joseph-Day is expected to sign a 3-year, $24 million deal ($15 million guaranteed) with the Chargers, according to Chris Carlin of ESPN New York. Joseph-Day lost 10 games to a chest injury that required surgery last season but otherwise played every game for the Rams over the past 2 years. He'll help rebuild a Chargers front that the team clearly believed needed attention after 2021. Joseph-Day delivered nice tackle production in 2021 before his injury but hasn't otherwise been a special IDP contributor. Don't expect to see him high in our 2022 IDP rankings.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that former Giants DT Austin Johnson is expected to sign with the Chargers. Johnson began his career a stronger run defender than pass rusher, but his Pro Football Focus grades point to that flipping in a breakthrough 2021 campaign. Johnson still doesn't look like a special performer, but he joins a Chargers front that struggled in 2021 -- especially against the run. Don't expect Johnson to be a high-impact IDP producer, but he cracked the top 30 last year in his 1st shot as a full-time player.

The Chargers have agreed to a 5-year, $82.5 million deal with CB J.C. Jackson, with $40 million of that guaranteed in the 1st 2 years, according to multiple reports. Arguably the top corner on the market, Jackson joins a Chargers defense that had already acquired EDGE Khalil Mack from the Bears this month. Jackson has grabbed 17 INTs over the past 2 seasons and 25 in his 4 years since arriving as an undrafted free agent. Both numbers lead the league over their respective spans.

Chargers S Derwin James carries no injury designation into Sunday's game against the Broncos and is expected to return to the starting lineup. James remained limited in practice this week, but the lack of a game status suggests we should expect full playing time. We'd roll with James in IDP lineups in most cases, chasing the upside over worrying about lingering risk with his hamstring issue.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley said Wednesday that he's "hopeful" S Derwin James can play Sunday against the Broncos, according to Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. James did manage a limited practice Wednesday, something he didn't do until Friday last week. We'll watch for more on James' status heading into Sunday.

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