The Los Angeles Chargers won their first game of the season, but it cost them one of their most important pieces.
Star wide receiver Mike Williams has suffered a season-ending ACL injury, as confirmed by an MRI and reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Source: #Chargers WR Mike Williams has torn his ACL and is out for the season, the MRI confirmed. pic.twitter.com/OHkErQdNW7
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 25, 2023
The big-play specialist fell with the injury late in the third quarter of their nail-biting win over the Minnesota Vikings.
He got twisted down after an 11-yard catch, and had to be carted to the locker room shortly after.
Williams was in the midst of one of his best games as a Charger.
He had hauled in seven passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, his first of the season.
Williams had gotten to a slow start to the campaign, hauling in four passes for 45 yards in the season opener, and then eight of 13 targets for 83 yards in their loss to the Tennessee Titans.
With him out of the picture, the Chargers will obviously continue to rely on Keenan Allen as their No. 1 target, but rookie Quentin Johnston out of TCU should also be hurried into the action after a somewhat discrete start to his career.
The Chargers cannot afford any more setbacks for the time being, especially not ahead of a divisional clash vs. the Las Vegas Raiders.
Even despite the win, it seems like Brandon Staley’s seat is getting hotter by the week.
Fortunately for him, he still has plenty of playmakers at his disposal to try and turn things around before it gets any worse.
