Chargers Derwin James Jr. Could Be Placed on Injured Reserve

The Los Angeles Chargers are coming off their bye week still without their first win and are now the only winless team in the NFL, which is not anywhere near where head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers thought they would be heading into Week 8.

In addition to being 0-6, the Chargers have also been dealing with a lot of injuries across the entire roster, which has put this team in a tough position as they aim to try to save their season starting this week in the battle of Los Angeles against the Los Angeles Rams. 

Getting back to the injuries, Los Angeles revealed some more unfortunate news as, according to Ian Rapoport, Harbaugh said veteran safety Derwin James Jr. has had a setback as he aims to return from his hamstring injury and could end up being placed on injured reserve. Additionally, Rapoport noted that James has not played since September 27th, which was Week 3.

For a James to potentially be placed on IR is very tough news for the Chargers as he is one of the leaders on the defense and after already missing three games this year, James is in jeopardy of missing at least another four games as that is at a minimum how many games he would miss if he were to be placed on IR.

Even though it has not been ideal for James to be out, it has given rookie safety Genesis Smith the opportunity to play a lot more and gain valuable game experience that could be great for him to take through the rest of this season, but also into the rest of his career.

Another thing this news for James could impact is his trade value, should the Chargers decide they want to become sellers at the deadline.

With James being a veteran and still playing well when he has been healthy, teams attempting to go all in may have been willing to send the Chargers decent draft capital in exchange for James, but with his injuries and the fact that he could be out past the NFL trade deadline, teams may not be willing to do that anymore.

All that said, Harbaugh said that James may go on injured reserve so there is no guarantee that James will be out for an extended period, but nevertheless it is a possibility that could end up affecting how Los Angeles has to proceed when it comes to managing his injury as well as what the goal is with the roster amid the struggles they have had as a team.

So, moving forward, it will be intriguing to see if James does end up being placed on IR as well as what his timetable is to return and if the Chargers decide to become sellers at deadline because both of those developments will determine whether Los Angeles has their eyes set on trying to save this season or looking ahead to 2027 in hopes that they can be much better next year.