Early in Monday Night Football between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders, one of the league’s best players went down with an injury. Star pass rusher Khalil Mack left the game with a gruesome elbow injury and was carted to the locker room, a sight that immediately sent concern through the Chargers’ sideline and fan base.
Just before halftime, Mack was spotted on the bench with his teammates, but he was no longer in uniform. Instead, he wore the undershirt from beneath his jersey and had his arm in a medical sling. Shortly after, the team officially ruled him out for the rest of the game. That announcement left Chargers fans everywhere holding their breath, wondering how severe the injury might be and how long he could be out.
It's unclear exactly how severe the injury was, but the fact that Mack was quickly shut down and placed in a sling certainly wasn’t encouraging. His status will be one of the biggest storylines to watch moving forward.
After the game, head coach Jim Harbaugh will no doubt be asked about Mack’s outlook, and that will likely be the first opportunity to get a clearer sense of the injury and what the outlook is for the weeks ahead. Until then, it’s speculation — but losing Mack for any length of time would be a massive blow to the Chargers’ defense.
Injuries are part of the game, but the timing makes this sting even more. The Chargers already came into the night with key defensive pieces banged up, and now they’ve added another major name to that list. For a team that just picked up a huge divisional win in Week 1 against the Chiefs, staying healthy is critical if they want to build momentum early in the season.
Mack’s health will now hang over that storyline as Los Angeles looks to push forward.