Chargers running back Ryan Mathews is planning to sit out his team’s Monday night opener against the Raiders as he continues to recover from a broken collarbone. But he thinks that’s the only game he’ll miss.
“I haven’t been cleared for contact, and I think we’re just going to wait this week,” Mathews said, via U-T San Diego. “I probably won’t be playing in this game. But the next game, that’s what I’m looking for now. I don’t know about the team, but me personally, now I’m looking for that [Week Two] game against Tennessee.”
Mathews, who broke his clavicle on August 9, had previously been adamant that he’ll play in the regular-season opener. But the Chargers were never promising he’d be back that quickly, saying from the beginning that Mathews would miss 4-6 weeks. So far it has been four weeks and two days, and Mathews hasn’t been cleared for contact yet.
“They just want to be on the cautious side,” Mathews said. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but you can’t do anything about it. You really can’t. You’ve just go to do what you can do, cheer on your teammates as much as you can. Like I said, my goal is to try to be ready by next week.”
Ronnie Brown is expected to start at running back for the Chargers on Monday night.