Camp Buzz: Chargers Injuries, Von Miller and Keenan Allen Find New Teams and Raiders-Texans Joint Practice

0:00Jourdan Rodrigue:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.

0:30Nick Shook:or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:40Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're really trying to believe there's no such thing as a Chargers curse. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm here in the Chris Wessling Podcast Studio. This is your August 18th, Tuesday, Camp Buzz with Nick Shook. we get you updated on all the latest news from all 32 training camps. And I hate starting with another Chargers injury. I was trying to ignore it, Nick, as I saw the injury lists for the Chargers grow and grow a little more and grow a little more. Didn't know if anyone were serious. We weren't going to talk about it. But on Tuesday, their starting center, Tyler Biotis, who was kind of the centerpiece of a lot of their hopes on the offensive line, was carted off with what appears to be a serious injury.

1:27And I can no longer ignore that the chargers are unfortunately charging again in August, which just means a lot of injuries. Yeah.

1:35Nick Shook:And it's probably affects the worst portion of this team, given their history with offensive line injuries. It also comes at a very, I mean, it's always unfortunate, but it's especially unfortunate because Jim Harbaugh had legitimately just said that him, that Biotis and Justin Herbert were going to play a little bit in their next preseason game because he wanted them to get reps together. in live action. Well, that's off the table because of things like this, but that's also just how precarious training camp can be. It can be a very fickle thing where one minute you think you're on track for all these good things.

2:03Nick Shook:The next minute you're losing your starting center for who knows how long. Yeah. Just the video of the injury. This was part of a joint practice with the 49ers. Other players were injured during the practice, but it does, it does not look good. And that is such a difficult position to fill, especially for this Chargers team. So we'll see what kind of adjustments that they want to make to their starting lineup. When I said I've been ignoring some of the injury reports, like Trey Harris, the receiver, hasn't practiced in a few days. Akeem Mesidor, who's had a great camp, hasn't been practicing. There's been Quinton Johnston, hasn't been practicing a lot.

2:40And then he did return to practice for this joint practice and then left it hobbling. Rayshawn Slater is the most important one of that entire group coming back from a really serious injury. And he's been out for a couple of weeks now. Jim Harbaugh did say they expect Slater back sometime around this weekend. So there's a little bit of good news. And if you wanted some other good news, reportedly Justin Herbert was out there putting on a show. So, you know, one injury does not ruin an offseason of optimism about Mike McDaniel and Justin Herbert together. And so I'm going to try to stay optimistic and it's going to be hard, Nick, because the way we've structured this show, we're just going to start with all the injury updates first and then get to the rest later.

3:23Mike Evans quietly hasn't been able to put together many back to back practices at 49ers camp. And he left this practice too. And they're pretty thin at wide receiver. And now it's starting to get a little on my radar that we've always assumed Mike Evans is going to be healthy. Last year was a little bit of a fluke injury, but he struggled to stay on the field this camp as well.

3:44Nick Shook:Yeah. He's had been dealing with quad injury. He's had a history of hamstring issues. You know, more recently he had broken his collarbone. The litany of injuries is quite long with him. And to hear about this, which he had, he was, had a wrap of, you know, ice after this practice. And, you know, obviously was not participating through the end of it. It's just not encouraging, especially for somebody of his age, who has been in this league for a long time, who, you know, is destined for a place in Canton and was seen as a massive addition to a 49ers offense, that already lost Ricky Pearsall. So look, you can continue with the conspiracies about the Stubb substation as much as you want, but they weren't even there.

4:19Nick Shook:No, we're down in LA this, you know. The Chargers house, okay? So it's unfortunate. Maybe that's haunted as well. I hope not. Somebody posted a picture of a giant like terminal of like just electric power lines behind them. They're like, oh, I see why they have issues. They do have the train going by. I don't think that can create any issues. It's actually very scenic to just see the MTA train, you know, going by. I got my tap cards. I'm ready to ride. I want to ride that train to practice one day. All right. So we'll hit these injuries. We'll hit a couple of veteran signings. We got Keenan Allard back in the league.

4:57We got Von Miller back in the league. And we'll get everyone, you know, set for the rest of the week. But the way I think about these injuries, if you're drafting in fantasy, for instance, it doesn't mean you have to panic. But I think it's good to know about them. because a lot of times these injuries, like Brees Hall's injury, where it's positioned as, oh, good news. Brees Hall should be ready for week one. I look at it more like not the best news that Brees Hall, you know, suffered a groin injury in practice, and that's the way his season is going to start, coming off back-to-back-to-back, pretty heavy workload seasons, especially knowing Aaron Glenn has been very optimistic when it comes to injuries in the past.

5:37He also says Kenyon Sadiq, his tight end is going to be ready for week one. We'll see either way. A groin strain, which is a tricky injury, is going to keep Bryce Brees Hall out for the rest of the preseason. Much of camp and they're hopeful he'll be back out there against the Titans in week one.

5:53Nick Shook:Yeah, there was there was good, you know, it was optimism coming from Aaron Glenn when the injury happened yesterday. Two to three weeks is not a terrible, you know, timeline for a running back. But given the fact that they just franchised him, then paid him and you expect him to be somebody who's going to produce a thousand yards in the ground, which he just broke a thousand yards for the first time last season. It's not the most encouraging thing. And it also makes you think about your depth of your backfield. They have Braylon Allen coming off of an injury in that backfield as well. Very much a different style of running back.

6:21Nick Shook:So you hope that like, okay, well, maybe two or three weeks is just like extra time to heal and really get ready for the regular season. There's no real reason that he needs to be on the field during the preseason anyway. But for a team that, as we've discussed, may be more offensive reliant than they want to be. It's not the best news either. No, and it's a groin strain. It's, it's just that it's one of those injuries that like you just got to get it to 100 % before you return. There's no pushing that. Right. That's a little bit scary. While we're on running backs, I should have mentioned with Christian McCaffrey, the speculation, which I've now seen repeated in a few areas, started with Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, that Christian McCaffrey has been out of practice, potentially looking for more money in his contract.

7:04It's an interesting story. I haven't seen anyone report it. Usually it's not speculated about unless someone has a clue. That would actually make me feel better about drafting Christian McCaffrey in fantasy leagues if he's sitting out because it's contract related and not some weird, vague body soreness, tightness. Who knows? Let's go to an injury, which we just keep updating on the show, but because it keeps getting worse, Jordan Tyson, the rookie Saints wide receiver, is now expected to miss about two months. So at least all of September, and we'll see when he returns for the regular season.

7:42So they're putting on a pretty long timeline for a hamstring strain. and to me that means Chris Olave like you're back to what you were doing last year. Devon Vele step right up like you're a big part of this offense and then Juwan Johnson is a name I see going pretty late in fantasy leagues who could very easily be the number two pass catcher on this Saints team.

8:03Nick Shook:Yeah, I'm a big Juwan Johnson guy and have been for a while especially when they lacked other legitimate playmakers in their pass catching unit, right? And that's fine but this does kind of dampen the optimism that myself and some others have carried into the season regarding the Saints just because you have one less weapon. And it's also the nature of the injury. You know, we kind of talked about it with Mike Evans, but hamstrings are the most tricky of all of them because one small, you know, flare up can set you back a long time, which is why I think this timeline is so long. It's also super disconcerting with Jordan Tyson because that was the knock on him coming out of Arizona State was that he had this lengthy injury history.

8:35Nick Shook:He hasn't completed a full season since high school. And it's not a toughness thing. It's just a matter of he continues to get hurt. So you hope that the two month timeline gives him plenty of time to fully heal like the groin, you get it back to 100 % and then you hope, okay, now he can hit the ground running and find his place in this core, but it is disconcerting for a rookie who you were coming into the season with high expectations for, and they're going to have to adjust. Would you change your Saints to win the division prediction? No. No, because they're in the worst division in football, and I still believe in Tyler Shuck, baby.

9:04Come on. Bucs fans, Baker Mayfield must be listening to NFL Daily and Shuck's opinion and power rankings because he got on the horn today and was like, oh everyone's predicting us to be under 500 this year i i see that definitely a shot at me that is definitely a shot at me talking about shook bakers locked in you know former teammates with the browns sort of yeah not exactly it's hard some things together it's it's hard not to think jordan tyson odo beckham in a way and that's i'm going to be positive here because that's the type of player he is and the way nick underhill who covers the saints said he was performing at camp where he looked like maybe the best player on the field, like was just dominating.

9:47Odell Beckham is the best case scenario when it comes to rookie hamstring injuries. It's easy to forget he missed the first big chunk of his rookie season and much of training camp with a hamstring injury. And he came out in whatever week it was, four, five, six, I don't even remember. And he suddenly was the best rookie receiver we had seen in a long time. So that's the dream if you're a Saints fan. Let's go to the Rams. Pukunikua, Miles Garrett, still out. They said Pukunikua was likely to return this week. He didn't. They're not just sitting these guys for no reason. Because Matthew Stafford, you know, sat for all of camp last year and it was the Rams and they're very careful, it makes me a little less concerned about these two guys.

10:28But both are likely to return next week, Sean McVay says. Aaron Donald also did another workout with the team. No update on when he's returning. Are you getting like a little bit spooked about Nakua and Garrett?

10:41Nick Shook:Well, miles because he it's knee swelling and he doesn't really have a history with knee issues. Like if it was related to the shoulder, I'd be like, okay, well he's dealt with that for years. I don't know if I would necessarily say spooked. I would just say, keep an eye on it, you know, hashtag noticing. But when it comes to Puka and like between the two guys, you don't need miles Garrett in training camp. He's going to be fine. It's gonna be miles Garrett. Very good player. Younger. I would still like him on the field, getting some reps for, you know, know, here and there, the good thing about the Rams, and this is not to like, take some sort of positive slant with them that, Oh, they're the Rams.

11:13Nick Shook:They'll be fine, but they really will be fine because not a lot has really changed. And if anything, you're giving Matthew Stafford reps with other guys that are gonna be playing around Puka and you'll get, you know, you'll, you'll receive the positive benefits from that. But would I like to see them healthy at this point? Absolutely. I'm just not the most concerned right now. Yeah. I just like to point it out. Like the plan is never for these guys to, you know, sit out a couple of weeks of camp with an injury. So it's worth noting. I wouldn't change my Puka stock evaluation for this year yet at this point.

11:41Kyle Monungay, the backup running back for the Bears. We mentioned his injury a couple days ago on the show. He is likely to be out a couple weeks, similar to Brees Hall. I think they're trying to get him ready for week one. We'll see. Emeka Abuka is now uncertain because of his toe injury to be ready for week one, according to Todd Bowles. They've taken a couple hits. Nick Jalen McMillan, their third receiver has been out basically for all of camp. His return is uncertain. And the fact that Bowles is noncommittal to Abuka playing week one, I think shows how serious it is. They really need Chris Godwin to be a big factor here for the Bucs.

12:19Nick Shook:Well, now it's Chris Godwin and Tess Johnson and whoever else is on this depth chart. Let's go Ted Hurst, baby. Let's go. Yeah. You can also go with Ted Hurst. Yeah. um, you went from being one of the deepest receiving cores in the NFL last year to a group now that is Chris Godwin and whoever else for now. Um, I'm more concerned about the fact that a Buka is the way that his back half of last year happened. Um, you know, dealing with injury and kind of tailing off, I would like for him to come in healthy and not dealing with this type of thing. But again, you run into this stuff with training camp all the time.

12:51Nick Shook:So now they just have to make do with what they have until they can get a little bit healthier. Yeah. It's, it's disappointing. and he's a guy. Look, it's this time of season. I hate to bring everything back to fantasy. We're going to do a fantasy show with Josh Norris later in the week, but he's a guy that I'm seeing getting drafted really early. I did not like where he was getting drafted even before this injury, Abuka. I'm sure this will sink his value a little bit, but I just thought it was going to be more of a spread-the-wealth offense. I wasn't assuming Abuka just slot him in as your number one 1 ,200 yards.

13:22We'll see. A couple other receiver injuries. no one's really paying any attention to for some reason. Michael Pittman's been out with a leg injury for at least a week and is going to miss another week. DK Metcalf, they won't even say what he's out with. Hashtag noticing. Is that contract related? I have no idea. I just, I don't know. They just aren't saying what he's out with. He's out at least another week. I don't think it's contract related. So that Mike McCarthy pointed that out. Keon Coleman showed up to Bill's practice in a walking boot. That's not a good sign. Taequann Thornton, the receiver for the Chiefs, left on a cart.

13:58I hate that I gave Keon Coleman the great omen with the help of my friend Eric Roberts for opening the new stadium with a touchdown, and then he shows up to the next practice in a walking boot. Not a good omen.

14:12Nick Shook:Well, it was a great play. I love the fail horn, the Price is Right fail horn. It was a great play that he made in that game to catch that touchdown. and it was a great play by Josh Allen as well. But he did sprain toe foot area in that game. So with everything that's good, when it comes to Keon Coleman, there's a little bit of unfortunate, a little bit of bad, but the boot, it could be worse right now. It's a big season for him. Let's wait and see. Yeah. And these Steelers receiver injuries, I'm not concerned until they let me be more concerned. But when once a guy's out for a week and a half, two plus two weeks, like it is worth noting.

14:48Zedaria Smith is a veteran pass rusher who's bounced around the league. quite a bit lately. Had his best days with the Packers, but he's kind of like the poor man's clowny, Jadeveon Clowney, and he shows up and he gets production. I said the other day on the show he was expected to sign with the Browns. That was according to Mary Kay Cabot. He actually signed with the Atlanta Falcons. He got$6 million, like base salary. At this point in the offseason, everyone's using the Browns, it seems like, to raise the price. Yeah. Yeah. Not great. It's like, it's hilarious.

15:22Nick Shook:Cause the Browns are now over two on trying to bring in guys that used to play for them that are edge rushers in the NFL. They both went to places where they have ties. Jadavion Clowney goes back to Houston, the team that drafted him. The Darius Smith goes to Cleveland, looks around and goes, wait, Kevin's fancy. He's not here anymore. I'm going to go join Kevin's fancy's team in Atlanta where they also need an edge rusher because you know, they're obviously down one of, if not both of their first round picks from last year. And so it makes sense from a football perspective. I'm just glad that he got, He's getting a job.

15:50Nick Shook:Sure. The guy that basically walked away from football and decided, no, you know what? I'm coming back. And, uh, and so he goes and finds a coach that he's familiar with. We'll see what happens here. Here are their pass rushers in Atlanta. It's Samson, Abacom, Zedaria Smith, Braylon, Trice, Aziz Ojalary, another former Brown, Cam Thomas. That's not a good group. Yeah. Boss Jalen Walker. And we'll see what happens to James Pierce. Yeah. He's out half the season. Uh, Nnamdi Matabweke is a all pro level talent for the Ravens. we were excited to hear was not retiring because of his neck injury that wasn't on the PUP list to start camp.

16:24Sometimes with these initial reports, we get a little overexcited. And then we find out a few weeks later, he has not had any contact work. He's been very limited at practice and that he could be a few weeks away from having any contact work. So just something to keep an eye on there that we don't know if he is fully back or not. Let's go to the Jaguars have had a lot of injuries. Parker Washington has been out of practice this week, is supposed to return maybe next week, but that's their number one receiver. LaQuint Allen, their third down back, is going to be out for the rest of the camp. A lot of these running backs are just being put on hold until the season start.

17:02One of their starting offensive linemen, Patrick McCurry, had back surgery. That's going to keep him out for a while. His backup, Wyatt Tellem, has also been hurt. Walker Little, who's one of their tackles, has been hurt. Cole Van Lannen, who is their left tackle, has been out for most of the camp. They are a little bit of a mess, especially on the offensive line. Sneaky, one of the most banged up teams in the league, which makes it more notable. I'm going to throw this one at you. I don't know if you know this is coming. They didn't even know Travis Hunter. They didn't even use Travis Hunter on offense on Monday at all.

17:36Our friend John Shipley noted for SI.com. So it kind of starting to show their hand that it's really going to be heavy defense. And I think a sprinkling of offense, especially considering Parker Washington wasn't even out there and they didn't use Travis Hunter at all on offense.

17:50Nick Shook:Yeah. At least early in the season. This is a team that is really positioned in that they have a collection of veterans that are now going to get slotted into the starting lineup to try to fill some of these needs, but it's not a, it's not like a hot, it lowers the ceiling. Like these are all guys whose names you recognize and they all washed out from somewhere else when they came in with relatively high expectations. And they're now just like in the two deep and they're slut, you know, as we're Cleveland's the Chuma and Dogas, those types. Right. And that's never encouraging. However, when it comes to Travis Hunter, that doesn't surprise me at all.

18:17Nick Shook:I don't really care if he plays that much offense, cause that's not going to be his primary position going forward. He's going to be a cornerback and that's totally fine with a group that they have, you know, I know Washington not participating right now. Right. But you still have Kobe Myers got Brian Thomas coming off of, you know, an up and down season last year. It's fine. When it comes to Travis Hunter, I am over the experiment. I know it attracts the eyeballs and everything, but just slot him in where he's best and where he's most valuable, and that's on defense. Oh, I think he's got to play offense, but it could be like 10 to 15 snaps one week.

18:47It could be five the next. It could be 25 the next, but I love the idea of all-pro cornerback Travis Hunter. That's what I'm hoping for, but I'm telling you, these offensive line injuries in Jacksonville, I have not seen talked about a lot, and it's been everywhere. I don't know how long-term all these are, but it could be a big problem for them early in the season. I teased the old friends returning to our lives this week to start the show. Von Miller is a Dallas Cowboy. He's been begging to join this team via social media, basically all offseason. We're going to hit the Cowboys on Wednesday morning's show.

19:25It's the NFC East preview with Patrick Claibon. So Miller joins a deep, but maybe not like high level pass rush group. How would you describe the Cowboys pass rush group now that they add Von Miller to the mix?

19:42Nick Shook:It's better than it was last year. Like they went and got Rashawn Gary. You'll see what you get at a dominant as a Raku. It's a mix of veteran talent with household names that kind of need a bounce back or for in Von Miller's case, just another year in the league. although he had a pretty solid season in Washington last year as part of the worst defense in the NFL statistically. It's not one that strikes fear in the heart of an opposing offense, but I think the real strength is what they've done with their front, you know, with Quinn and Williams and Kenny Clark. And I think the, the combined results will be better than the names on paper.