Chargers News: LA Star Safety Faces Setback with Ankle Injury

Not great ahead of their division clash.

The Chargers' recent injury report won't inspire confidence ahead of their important matchup with their division rivals in Week 7. 

One of LA's best defenders, Derwin James, popped up on Thursday afternoon's injury report due to an ankle issue as news that fans simply didn't want to hear. 

Derwin James Jr.added with an ankle injury and Jaylinn Hawkins left practice with illness. https://t.co/6qPwfdrjQT

— Jeff Miller (@JeffMillerLAT) October 19, 2023

James' partner in the secondary, Jaylinn Hawkins, was also feared to suffer a significant injury after his absence from practice was reported. 

Thankfully, the waiver claim's exit from practice was spurned due to an illness and not something more serious. 

As for James, the former Seminole has been instrumental in LA's attempts to contain Travis Kelce over the years. 

Very few can take on such a task to cover one of the best tight ends in NFL history, but James has proven up to the challenge in most of their games together. 

Kansas City beat LA in both of their matchups last season, including a three-touchdown performance from Kelce that included the game-winner at Sofi. 

This year could prove a tad different as the Chiefs' potent offense led by Patrick Mahomes continues to struggle in the red zone to begin 2023. 

The reigning Super Bowl champs may only have one loss this season, but their sloppy offensive execution could come back to bite them this Sunday. 

Justin Herbert faces a suddenly daunting KC defense, and their improved unit under Steve Spagnuolo has been a bigger story than their usually dynamic offense. 

Mahomes has consistently proven dominant over the AFC West in his six seasons as a starter, and he'll hope to keep such a streak going in his second divisional matchup in a row. 

On the other hand, the Bolts have their shot to reach .500 once more in an increasingly important matchup early into this year. 

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