Ladd McConkey Pushing to Play Through Cracked Rib Against Raiders
Ian Rapoport reported that McConkey has improved more steadily than anticipated and that there is optimism he can go today.
Playing professional football with a cracked rib sounds like a punishment you would read about in a medieval history book, but is apparently volunteering for it. The wide receiver is officially pushing to play today against the after steadily improving late in the week.
According to Ian Rapoport, managed to practice on Friday and the team opted not to elevate another receiver from the practice squad. Barring a pregame setback, there is real optimism that he will suit up for this AFC West showdown.
For context, spent Wednesday and Thursday watching practice in street clothes after taking a brutal shot over the middle in last week's loss to the . Going from a non-participant to game-ready in 48 hours with a core injury is the kind of pain tolerance that makes normal humans wince just reaching for the TV remote.
The Chargers desperately need him on the field. If is ultimately ruled out or limited to a decoy role, will be forced to rely heavily on and Tre' . That is a terrifying proposition for a offense trying to bounce back from a 14-point outing in Week 1.
Fantasy managers and prop bettors are now stuck playing the waiting game until inactives drop. The matchup itself is juicy, considering the Raiders are already down starting cornerback with a foot injury, leaving a very exploitable secondary for whoever actually runs routes for the .
We will know for sure when the official inactive list hits 90 minutes before the 4:05 p.m. ET kickoff. Until then, keep a backup plan ready, because one wrong twist in warmups could easily send right back to the sideline.