The Chargers will not be at full strength against the Vikings on Sunday in Minneapolis. In fact, they'll be far from it. Two starters from the secondary, their top pass-catching tight end and their most dangerous punt returner are all going to miss the game.
Starting cornerback Brandon Flowers, who was a late addition to the injury report on Saturday night with a knee problem, is not going to play. Fellow corner Jason Verrett, who sustained a foot injury in practice and was questionable heading in, will be in the starting lineup. The Chargers have not yet announced who will start in place of Flowers but it's likely to be Patrick Robinson or Steve Williams.
Another big loss is tight end Ladarius Green. He was feeling concussion-like symptoms during the week and will not be on the field. That leaves quarterback Philip Rivers with just three tight ends, John Phillips, David Johnson and Kyle Miller, and all of them are best known as blockers instead of pass catchers.
I'll just throw this out there as a possibility. Wide receiver Dontrelle Inman used to play tight end. He's not the same size now, 6'3" and 205 pounds, but he has the route running ability and understands the position well enough to fill in for a game. It will be interesting to see if the Chargers try him in that role.
Here's the full list of inactives:
WR Jacoby Jones
CB Brandon Flowers
RB Donald Brown
S Jahleel Addae
OLB Tourek Williams
G Johnnie Troutman
TE Ladarius Green
So if you're looking for good news, it's that starting right guard D.J. Fluker is active. He suffered an ankle injury in the season-opener against Detroit and missed last week's loss to the Bengals.
