Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Chargers QB Justin Herbert fractured his right index finger in Sunday's loss to the Broncos, HC Brandon Staley said afterward. "Given where we are in the season, a fracture could mean his season is over," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted. We should get more details on Herbert's status on Monday, but the 5-8 Chargers have no reason to rush Herbert back. QB Easton Stick will take over for however long Herbert is out. The 2019 fifth-round pick had one regular-season pass attempt before going 13-of-24 for 179 yards in relief of Herbert today. Stick is obviously a significant downgrade for this Chargers offense.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert injured his right index finger in the second quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Broncos. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update Herbert's status when we know more. He's been replaced by QB Easton Stick.

Update: Herbert has been ruled out.

Chargers WR Josh Palmer (knee) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Broncos. He returned to practice this week but isn’t quite ready for game action. We’ll see if Palmer can make it back for Thursday night’s game vs. the Raiders. Quentin Johnston and Jalen Guyton will again serve as Los Angeles’ No. 2 and 3 WRs this weekend.

Panthers TE Hayden Hurst (concussion) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Saints. We learned this week that Hurst is dealing with Post Traumatic Amnesia after being concussed back in Week 10. He put in three limited practices this week and is hoping to play again this season. TEs Tommy Tremble (hip) and Stephen Sullivan (shoulder) are listed as questionable. Avoid this situation in Week 14 fantasy lineups.

The Chargers are designating WR Joshua Palmer to return from IR, opening his 21-day practice window. HC Brandon Staley just last week described Palmer's situation by saying "there's still a possibility" that he'd return from IR, according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. That suggests we can't assume Palmer will be ready to return from his knee injury and play in Week 14. And it'll be tough to throw him into fantasy lineups right away, unless we get word from Chargers coaches that he's all the way back. Still, we have mentioned Palmer in our waiver wire article each of the past two weeks on this chance of return. If he does make it back to full participation, we'd bet on Palmer re-emerging as the No. 2 wideout in an offense that needs him. Stash Palmer early if you can ... if that makes sense for your roster, of course.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert managed only 212 yards in Sunday's 6-0 win over New England. He went without a passing TD for the second time this season. A few key drops hurt Herbert’s numbers, as the Chargers offense continued to provide little help. The Pats even limited Keenan Allen to 5 catches for 58 yards on 9 targets. Herbert will likely remain a QB1 for upcoming matchups vs. Denver and Vegas, but there’s clearly a low floor here.

Panthers TE Hayden Hurst (concussion) is out for Sunday’s game against the Bucs. TE Tommy Tremble (hip) is listed as doubtful, which will leave Carolina with TEs Ian Thomas and Stephen Sullivan. Neither is a viable fantasy play.

Panthers TE Hayden Hurst (concussion) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Titans. With Hurst sidelined last week, Tommy Tremble led Carolina TEs with a 68% route rate and caught one of three targets for four yards and a score. He’d be a desperation Week 12 fantasy play.

The Chargers have placed Edge Joey Bosa on IR for the foot injury that knocked him out of Sunday's game. That will keep Bosa out until at least Week 16, and he'll be difficult to trust in fantasy lineups in his first game back. We've already seen an active Bosa play less than 50% of the snaps in three other games before leaving Week 11 early. That all means you can go ahead and drop Bosa for another option in your redraft IDP league. The 28-year-old is probably still worth holding in dynasty ... but he's running out of value in that format as well.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley said Monday that Edge Joey Bosa is dealing with a foot sprain and will likely land on IR, according to multiple reports. That would knock Bosa out through at least Week 15. At best, Bosa would return for the penultimate week of most fantasy football seasons. And you're not likely to play him in his first game back from this injury. We've already seen Bosa play limited snaps while dealing with injuries this year. Bottom line: You should go ahead and dump Bosa for a replacement in redraft leagues this week.

Chargers WR Quentin Johnston drew 6 targets in Sunday's loss to the Packers, tying for second on the team. But he caught just two passes for 21 yards against a Green Bay defense missing multiple secondary starters. The rookie could have turned the whole thing around late but dropped what would have been a 70-yard catch-and-run TD, after he had gotten behind ceoverage. Johnston still has just one game all year in which he has reached 50 yards and no game with more. Sunday's performance came with WR Jalen Guyton and TE Gerald Everett out. He's not worth starting in most fantasy formats, regardless of matchup. We're not giving up on Johnston in dynasty yet, but he's enduring a worrisome debut on that front as well.

Chargers Edge Joey Bosa suffered a foot injury early in Sunday's game against the Packers. He's officially questionable to return but left on a cart with a towel covering his face. That sure doesn't seem to bode well for the severity of the injury. We'll watch for more updates.

Chargers TE Gerald Everett (chest) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Packers. TE Donald Parham (hip) is off the injury report after putting in a full practice on Friday and is a viable Week 11 fantasy spot starter. Parham posted a 4-43-1 line on five targets when Everett missed Week 8. For the season, Parham leads the Chargers and ranks second among all TEs with seven end-zone targets.

Panthers TE Hayden Hurst (concussion) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Cowboys. That should mean a boost in playing time for TE Tommy Tremble -- but not enough to make him a recommended fantasy play in this struggling Carolina offense.

Chargers TE Gerald Everett (chest) missed practice again on Thursday. He's looking unlikely to play vs. the Packers this weekend. TE Donald Parham (hip) returned to a limited practice on Thursday. We'll see what he does on Friday and how he's listed on the final injury report. If Parham plays and Everett misses, Parham will be in the mix as a Week 11 spot starter.

Panthers TE Hayden Hurst is in the concussion protocol and did not practice on Wednesday. He's unlikely to be cleared in time for this weekend's game vs. the Cowboys. Hurst hasn't topped three catches in a game since Week 1, so he shouldn't have been in your fantasy plans anyway. His absence is a boost to TE Tommy Tremble, but he'd be a desperation fantasy play.

Chargers WR Quentin Johnston scored his first career TD in the Week 10 win over the Lions, breaking wide open on a well-designed play-action fake from one yard out. That was the only real highlight of his outing, though. Johnston finished with four catches for 34 yards in a game when QB Justin Herbert chucked for 323 yards. Johnston's four targets tied for fourth on the team and were just 10% of the total. He also drew a 15-yard pass interference penalty but dropped what could have been an 86-yard TD on the play. Johnston continues to run a lot of low-percentage routes and simply isn't creating much separation. He's at least a full-time player right now with WR Josh Palmer out. That keeps Johnston in play as a WR4. But he does not look like a player on the cusp of a breakout.

Ravens RB Gus Edwards led the team with 11 carries in Sunday's loss to the Browns. He managed just 24 yards -- his lowest total all season -- but scored for the fourth straight game. That last stat has been key to Edwards' fantasy value (and his risk). The biggest positive from Sunday was Edwards reclaiming the backfield rush lead after resting through the second half of blowout win in Week 9. His 11 attempts vs. Cleveland more than doubled the combined total (5) of Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill. The schedule looks merely decent the next weeks, before a Week 13 bye. And Baltimore has no strongly positive rushing matchups the rest of the way. That could give Edwards some sell potential, but don't be afraid to just hold him for the TD upside if you can't get a good return.

Chargers WR Josh Palmer will miss at least four total games (three more) with his knee injury. But HC Brandon Staley hinted Wednesday that Palmer might miss more time. "He'll be out for the four weeks for sure and then we'll just see from there," Staley said. Asked if he's expecting Palmer back this season, Staley replied, "no expectations." We still don't have any details on the type or severity of Palmer's knee injury. We'll keep an eye out for that info, but Palmer is not a must-stash on fantasy benches. His absence will continue to provide a big opportunity for WR Quentin Johnston. He predictably struggled against a tough Jets secondary last week but ran a route on a season-high 95% of pass plays.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert completed 16 of 30 passes for 126 yards with 0 TDs or INTs in Week 9’s victory over the Jets. He also added 17 rushing yards in the contest, but Herbert’s 7.1 fantasy points on Monday night are firmly his lowest in a game this season. Herbert being sacked five times doesn’t help matters either. Fantasy managers should expect him to be able to return much better production than this for the rest of the season, but don’t get too excited. The Chargers’ remaining schedule ranks fifth-hardest for QBs in adjusted fantasy points allowed. Don’t take this as an “abandon ship” warning for Herbert, though. Two of those remaining games are against the Broncos (32nd in pass defense DVOA). It’s just something to be mindful of moving forward.