Chargers prized rookie WR Mike Williams reportedly could miss season
A move out of San Diego apparently hasn’t helped the Los Angeles Chargers’ injury luck.
Receiver Mike Williams, who was the seventh overall pick of the draft from Clemson, might be on the shelf for the entire season before he ever puts on pads for a Chargers practice. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Williams might need season-ending back surgery. That’s not official, but even if there’s no surgery it seems like Williams will be battling a herniated disc for a while. Schefter wrote Williams got a second epidural in hopes he can be ready for training camp. If it doesn’t come around, surgery is an option.
In that case, Williams won’t play a down this season.
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This must feel like a terrible joke to the Chargers. Last season the Chargers suffered a heavy injury toll, especially at receiver. Keenan Allen tore his ACL in the first game. Williams was supposed to help give Philip Rivers another target this season, but that might not happen until 2018.
Williams suffered the herniated disc this offseason, and there seems to be some issue over when it happened. Schefter wrote a source said it was possible Williams hurt his back at the combine and during his pro day – not at a minicamp practice as has been widely reported – and it’s possible Williams “did a good enough job masking it so that teams would not know and his draft stock would not be impacted.” If someone in the organization is saying that (Schefter doesn’t specify if it was a Chargers source), it’s possible this whole ordeal could get ugly.
What we do know is that there’s real concern coming out of Los Angeles that Williams will miss all of his rookie season. Even with the Chargers’ recent run of injuries, that would be especially cruel.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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