The Los Angeles Chargers will be without wide receiver Mike Williams for their postseason matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday.
Williams suffered a small fracture in his back after being tackled to the ground by multiple members of the Denver Broncos defense Sunday, according to ESPN reporter Lindsey Thiry. Williams’ fracture was “not found in initial X-ray and MRI,” the reporter noted.
Chargers WR Mike Williams suffered a small non-surgical fracture in his back that was not found in initial X-ray and MRI. After Williams did not progress this week, further tests were ran that revealed the fracture, sources told ESPN. He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.
— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 13, 2023
Williams was seen instantly crouching to the ground in pain after getting tackled, and later required assistance from medical trainers just to make it off the field. He ultimately needed to be carted off into the locker room once he made it to the sidelines.
Mike Williams injury #Chargers pic.twitter.com/wVnkVdtNgw
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) January 9, 2023
Scary news for the #Chargers WR Mike Williams being carted off the field in denver! pic.twitter.com/PUYr3ujoWW
— Jayson Ortiz (@Jayson_ortiz) January 8, 2023
This is a tough loss for the Chargers, considering how Williams led Los Angeles in receiving yards this season, according to ESPN. In the regular season, Williams caught 63 passes for a team-high 895 yards. He would also find the end zone four separate times.
With Williams out, you can expect a heavy dose of running back Austin Ekeler for Saturday’s playoff game. Ekeler must have a big game for Los Angeles in order for the Chargers to defeat the red-hot Jaguars.
The Chargers will be fighting an uphill battle Saturday due to Williams’ injury, but I believe they’re the better team with or without him.