NFL
Future Impact: Los Angeles Chargers & S Derwin James After Injury
Breaking down the future outlook of Derwin James and the Los Angeles Chargers after his significant foot injury
USA TODAY Sports
The #Chargers suffered a tough loss yesterday in practice. Sources say star safety Derwin James will be out a significant amount of time, but how much is still undetermined, as of now. He injured his foot yesterday and was spotted in a boot today.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 16, 2019
After a stellar rookie year that earned him the runner-up in the 2018 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors & an All-Pro 1st Team appearance, James was looking to take it to the next level in LA’s secondary in 2019. Unfortunately, he’s suffered a serious foot injury that currently will keep him out “a significant time.”
As long as he can come back to full health, Derwin James still has one of the brightest futures for any defender across the NFL after a sensational rookie season. Coming out of Florida State, he joined Minkah Fitzpatrick as the no-brainers among DBs in the 2018 Draft Class. After one season, it appeared James would end up being the better player of the two, but of course it’s still very early. How/when James recovers from this injury will be a major factor in that battle that will be attached to their names for years to come. Until proven otherwise, still consider Derwin James one of the best safeties in the game, period.
Fortunately for the Chargers, they just drafted Nasir Adderley in the 2nd round to take over for Adrian Phillips in 2020 and beyond. With James’ recent injury, he’ll likely step into the starting lineup for the weeks Derwin isn’t out there and can prove himself into a more prominent role down the stretch. Last year’s starting safety alongside James, Jahleel Addae (98.9% of snaps) signed a 1y/$1.1M deal with the Houston Texans over the offseason.
The Chargers defense benefitted greatly from James’ instincts and playmaking abilities that will surely be missed, but a healthy Joey Bosa could offset that, not to mention they have two other elite players in the secondary with Casey Hayward and Desmond King shutting down other team’s WRs.
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