Chargers hope WR Mike Williams can play against Baltimore Ravens

COSTA MESA — The Chargers could beryllium without wide receiver Mike Williams for Sunday’s roadworthy showdown against the Baltimore Ravens.

Williams was listed arsenic questionable connected the last wounded study for Week 6 due to the fact that of genu swelling helium sustained aft past week’s triumph against the Cleveland Browns.

Williams missed each signifier this week and wasn’t connected the tract during the unfastened information to reporters Friday.

“Mike conscionable had immoderate swelling from the game, conscionable benignant of mean shot crippled stuff,” Chargers manager Brandon Staley said. “But we conscionable tried to beryllium cautious with him this week astatine the opening of the week (to) marque definite that he’s feeling his champion for Sunday. We’re going to cognize much aboriginal today, but we’re hopeful that helium plays.”

Williams is successful the midst of a vocation twelvemonth arsenic 1 of the astir productive wide receivers successful the NFL done 5 games. He has a league-high six receiving touchdowns and ranks 5th successful receiving yards with 471.

If Williams is incapable to play versus the Ravens, that could make an accidental for rookie Josh Palmer, the team’s third-round prime this year.

“He runs immoderate truly bully routes and he’s a feline that we truly judge in,” Chargers backmost Justin Herbert said astir Palmer.

The Chargers won’t person linebacker Drue Tranquill versus the Ravens. He has been ruled retired with a thorax injury. Chargers information Nasir Adderley was listed arsenic questionable with a hep injury.

Staley said helium plans to person rookies Amen Ogbongbemiga and Nick Niemann divided snaps astatine the 2nd starting linebacker presumption adjacent to Kyzir White.

“I’m excited to spot those guys compete,” Staley said astir the rookie linebackers. “We person a batch of religion successful them and it’s gonna beryllium an awesome accidental to showcase what they tin bash due to the fact that this is simply a truly bully squad that their archetypal enactment is going to beryllium going against.”

SLATER DECLINES HELP

Chargers halfway Corey Linsley jokingly shrugged erstwhile helium was asked astir his rookie teammate declining assistance past week against Browns prima walk rusher Myles Garrett.

“Yeah, it’s each right,” Linsley sarcastically said.

At this point, Linsley isn’t amazed astir thing Rashawn Slater does connected the field. Slater started the play by shutting down the Washington pass-rushing tandem of Chase Young and Montez Sweat and didn’t let his archetypal vocation sack until past week versus Garrett, which astir apt shouldn’t person counted against him.

Slater asked his coaches to archer the moving backs to debar helping without announcement due to the fact that Joshua Kelley accidentally bounced Garrett disconnected Slater and into Herbert for the sack precocious successful the 3rd quarter.

“Rashawn is simply a beast and helium really didn’t privation america to spot due to the fact that it was similar helping them,” Chargers moving backmost Austin Ekeler said. “It was bumping guys disconnected of him. He’s like, ‘Hey, conscionable don’t adjacent chip.’ Hey, you got it. You got it, boss.’”

It wasn’t Slater’s champion show of his young career, but helium did capable to not person Garrett wreck the game, which he’s done to galore teams. Garrett recorded 3 hits connected Herbert and had 1 sack with assistance from Kelley.

The 2 games prior, Garrett had 5 sacks and 10 backmost hits combined against the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

Garrett praised Slater earlier and aft the game, arsenic the No. 13 wide prime successful April’s draught has played good capable to petition one-on-one matchups against the NFL’s champion walk rushers.

“What we’ve tried to bash is make existent spot and connection with our guys,” Staley said astir Slater’s request. “That they tin talk up and person a dependable to explicit themselves. In that peculiar instance, and if you speech to O-linemen conscionable successful general, sometimes a spot oregon a nudge tin disrupt the timing of their acceptable and really alteration their acceptable space and their bushed and timing.

“Rashawn conscionable felt like, ‘Hey, I tin artifact this guy. I tin artifact this feline man-to-man.’ It says 2 things that basal retired to maine – possibly much – but the 2 things are the spot successful the connection to speech to not lone Austin, but our violative coaching staff, and then, No. 2, the assurance that helium has successful his ability.”

Ekeler had nary contented with Slater telling him to backmost off, particularly aft the video committee astatine SoFi Stadium showed a clip of the rookie front-squatting an insane magnitude of weight.

“That guy, he’s special,” Ekeler said. “So, hey, he’s got it locked down.”

Slater volition person different pugnacious situation Sunday against Ravens antiaircraft extremity Calais Campbell, a six-time Pro Bowler.

KICKER TROUBLE

Staley expressed enactment for kicker Tristan Vizcaino aft helium missed 2 extra-point attempts against the Browns during the 47-42 win.

“With Tristan, we’re going to person to woody with this,” Staley said. “He’s a young kicker successful the league. He has a fantastic kickoff leg, and arsenic a kicker, helium needs to beryllium successful a batch of those situations to marque definite helium gets his bushed and timing. He missed 2 (Sunday), that was disappointing. But what we request him to bash is bounce back. He’s a talented guy. He’s conscionable similar a batch of young players successful the league. You person to enactment diligent due to the fact that he’s bully enough.”

Staley supported Vizcaino with his postgame comments and was prepared to person him perchance footwear the game-winning tract extremity versus the Browns. Staley planned connected moving down the timepiece to the last seconds earlier Ekeler was pulled into the extremity portion by the Browns.

Vizcaino’s 2nd missed extra-point effort forced the Chargers to play catchup erstwhile the people was 42-41, but it mightiness person helped the squad due to the fact that the Browns played conservatively with a one-point vantage down the stretch. The Chargers’ defence forced a three-and-out punt to pave the mode for Ekeler’s game-winning touchdown.

Vizcaino is 6 of 7 connected field-goal attempts and 10 of 14 connected extra-point attempts this season.

“We’ve made immoderate adjustments and we worked each week astatine it,” Chargers peculiar coordinator Derius Swinton said astir Vizcaino. “He didn’t support his caput down. Just trying to get backmost to the fundamentals.”