We’re still not sure whether or not this Sunday’s Chargers-Titans game will be televised locally, but there’s an increased chance that running back Ryan Mathews will be in the lineup for San Diego either way.
The Chargers announced that Mathews is wearing full pads in practice on Thursday for the first time since breaking his clavicle on Aug. 9 in a preseason game. That makes five weeks, smack in the middle of the four-to-six week recovery time period quoted at the time of the injury.
The team will give a fuller update on Mathews’ status after practice, so it remains to be seen if this is the team starting the process of getting him ready for Week Three or not. Getting to the point that Mathews is wearing pads during practice is a significant step toward the goal of getting back on the playing field and it suggests that Mathews will have a chance to play this week.
Not all the injury news was so good for the Chargers on Thursday. Tight end Antonio Gates is not practicing for the second straight day as a result of the rib injury he suffered against the Raiders on Monday night. Gates has previously missed practices and played in games so this could be a situation that goes right down to the time when the Chargers have to declare their inactives on Sunday afternoon.