ALLEN WILL SIT VS. BILLS WITH INJURED HEEL
The medical news was mixed for the Chargers on Thursday. Wide receiver Keenan Allen was ruled out of his second consecutive game because of a heel injury, but outside linebacker Joey Bosa was cleared to practice again after sitting out four games because of a fractured foot.
Allen, the NFL’s leading receiver with a Chargersrecord 108 catches this season, hasn’t played or practiced since he was hurt in their loss Dec. 10 to the Denver Broncos. He sat out the Chargers’ loss Dec. 14 to the Las Vegas Raiders and won’t play Saturday against the Buffalo Bills.
“It’s kind of been the injury of the year,” Giff Smith, the Chargers’ interim coach, said Friday of Allen’s nagging heel injury. “I’m not a good medical guy, obviously, but it’s just been a weird injury this year. We saw it with Alohi (Gilman) and Deane Leonard is still going through it.”
Allen worked out with a member of the athletic training staff off to the side of the practice field Tuesday and Wednesday, but he did not Thursday during the portion of practice open to reporters. The Chargers hope Allen will be sound enough to play in one of their final games before the season ends.
“No, there’s no thought of shutting him down,” Smith said.
Smith said Bosa was making progress and it was hoped he could play again, too.
Sticking with Stick
Smith didn’t hesitate when asked earlier this week if Easton Stick would remain the Chargers’ starting quarterback for their final games against the Bills, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. Stick assumed the role after Justin Herbert underwent season-ending surgery on his fractured right index finger.
“No doubt,” Smith said. “No question.”
Stick made his first start in five seasons in the NFL in the Chargers’ humiliating 63-21 loss to the Raiders last week. He completed 23 of 32 passes for 257 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also was sacked three times and fumbled twice in the Chargers’ fifth loss in six games.
“Emotionally, you just want to burn it, for sure, but there’s a benefit to going back and watching it,” Stick said of reviewing the game on video. “It’s never as bad as you think and it’s never as good. As bad as it felt, there are positives that you can take from it and things you have to learn from it and improve.”
Stick settled down after the Chargers fell behind 42-0 by halftime, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half. It was one of the few positives to come from a game in which the Chargers gave up the most points in the franchise’s history, which dates to the earliest days of the AFL in 1960.
The Chargers added quarterback Will Grier to serve as Stick’s backup, shifting rookie Max Duggan back to the practice squad. But offensive coordinator Kellen Moore echoed Smith’s vote of confidence in Stick as the Chargers’ starting quarterback for the final three games of the season.
“I really respect the heck out of him for continuing to battle (against the Raiders),” Moore said. “I thought he started moving the ball as the game went on. The turnovers kind of got us early. Again, it’s a great opportunity for him to continue to keep building. We’re excited for him this week. He has these three weeks.”
Switching centers
Brenden Jaimes on Saturday will replace Will Clapp, who had replaced Corey Linsley as the Chargers’ center since Week 4. Clapp was placed on injured reserve this week and won’t play again this season. Linsley was sidelined by a heart ailment that’s likely to keep him out for the rest of the season, too.
“A versatile player,” Stick said of Jaimes. “He’s smart. He understands. Like all of us, he’s excited for his opportunity to get out there and to play. He’s done a really good job, did a really good job (in practice this week) of leading the group. He did a good job stepping in, in the game (Thursday).”