Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:
The Chargers practiced without Joey Bosa on Monday. Their first round Draft pick who missed just about the entire training camp and preseason was held out of the team’s first regular season practice.
“He was a little tight so we held him out [Monday]. We’ll just go a day at a time moving forward from here,” said head coach Mike McCoy. “Like any player when they come in for training camp and you get in a mode you kind of gradually work them in to things.”
When asked what was causing the tightness McCoy stated simply “Um … he’s tight.”
McCoy did not give a time table for Bosa’s return to practice. The Chargers have a roster exemption on Bosa so they do not have to offer up injury updates on him, and do not plan to do so moving forward.
“When he’s in game shape and willing to be in on a play he’ll be out there playing in games,” said McCoy.
San Diego drafted Bosa hoping he could be the edge-setting run stopper they desperately needed but he only has a handful of practices under his belt and no obvious time table to get on the field. With the season opener in Kansas City lurking just six days away, this development has got to be somewhat disconcerting for the Bolts.
“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned long-term,” said McCoy. “I just want him to get feeling like he’s ready to roll to play in a game. That’s the most important thing for our entire team, not just Joey.”
The Chargers made a few other announcements on Monday. Members of the team voted on their captains, naming Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates for the offense, Manti Te’o and newcomer Brandon Mebane for the defense, and Darrell Stuckey for special teams.
San Diego also added four more players to its practice squad, signing wide receiver Jonathan Krause and tight end Jake McGee and bringing back tight end Asante Cleveland and outside linebacker Chris Landrum.
Krause went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2014 and won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Patriots practice squad. His only regular season NFL experience came in 2015 when he played two games, catching two passes for the Eagles.
McGee was a second-team All-SEC selection at Florida but was not selected in this year’s NFL Draft. He signed with the Panthers and ended up with the Raiders at the end of the preseason.
Cleveland and Landrum spent the preseason with the Chargers and made the initial 53-man roster but were waived on Sunday to make room for three new players the Bolts claimed from other franchises.
