Chargers are keeping fingers crossed after ankle injury to linebacker Denzel Perryman
The Chargers’ 48-17 thumping at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday night’s preseason opener was compounded by a potentially significant injury to a key starter.
Middle linebacker Denzel Perryman hurt his left ankle in the first quarter and returned to the sidelines on crutches and in a walking boot. Perryman had an MRI test Monday. The team did not issue a medical update.
“I’m not sure how bad it is right now, we’ll have to wait and see,” coach Anthony Lynn said after the game. “It could be serious, but I have no idea right now.”
The team already lost projected starting right guard Forrest Lamp for the season when the second-round pick out of Western Kentucky tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the first week of training camp.
First-round pick Mike Williams, the former Clemson wide receiver, will sit out training camp while recovering from a herniated disk in his lower back, an injury he suffered in May. There is no timetable for his return.
Perryman, 24, a second-round pick out of Miami in 2015, had 80 tackles, two sacks and one interception in 12 games, 11 of them starts, last season. He sat out four games because of hamstring and knee injuries. He had 95 tackles and two sacks in 14 games as a rookie in 2015.
Perryman’s injury likely will push reserve middle linebacker Korey Toomer into the starting lineup. Toomer, who had four tackles Sunday night, appeared in 13 games, with eight starts, last season, recording 69 tackles and one sack.
Mr. Clean
The most impressive part about a game-opening, 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive in which Philip Rivers completed five of six passes for 56 yards Sunday was that the quarterback left the field after the 7-minute 15-second possession without one grass stain on his uniform.
“We kept Philip clean,” left guard Matt Slauson said. “He was getting the ball out fast. We ran the ball well. Everything was rolling. Communication was fast and clean. Nobody was really unsure.”
The play of a revamped line, which will feature at least three new starters, will be a key to the Chargers offense, which is strong at the skilled positions with Rivers, running back Melvin Gordon and a fleet of talented receivers and tight ends.
The first-team line shined, giving Rivers time to carve up Seattle’s first-string defense. Included on the drive was a short pass on a crossing route to tight end Hunter Henry for 17 yards and Travis Benjamin’s 15-yard catch between two defenders on a third-and-nine play.
A screen pass to Branden Oliver for 14 yards gave the Chargers a first and goal at the eight, and veteran tight end Antonio Gates boxed out a Seattle defender while catching his five-yard scoring pass.
“When you have a guy like Philip, a guy who understands the system, understands the game, he puts you in the best position possible,” Gates said. “That’s what he was able to do. We were so efficient. Our whole thing is trying to be balanced, and we were able to do that.”
Reserve clause
The first-team defense kept Seattle out of the end zone on Seattle’s first two possessions, with cornerback Casey Hayward providing tight coverage on Tanner McEvoy on the first drive and end Melvin Ingram stopping quarterback Trevone Boykin for no gain on the second drive.
But the second- and third-team defenders, as well as the offensive reserves, were badly outplayed by Seattle’s subs.
“We’re going to be a good team, but it’s not just about the ones,” safety Tre Boston said. “Unfortunately in football, your ones will go down every so often, and we need twos and threes who are going to pick up the slack and help us.”
Mixed bag
Cardale Jones, who is competing with Kellen Clemens for the backup quarterback job, showed some promise, evading a heavy rush and passing to newly signed tight end Matt Weiser for 38 yards before halftime and scrambling for a 13-yard gain in the fourth quarter.
But Jones, acquired from Buffalo in the first week of camp, completed only two of nine passes for 50 yards and took an 11-yard sack.
“He’s still learning our system,” Lynn said. “We threw him in the fire, and he did some good things, but he also did some bad things, things he needs to improve on — his accuracy, some reads, some protections.”
Follow Mike DiGiovanna on Twitter @MikeDiGiovanna
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