The Chargers defended their home field on Sunday and beat the Cowboys 30-21 to improve to 2-2 on the season, but victory came with a price.
Dwight Freeney left the game with a quad injury in the second quarter and the veteran pass-rusher may not be able to return this season. PFT has learned that a first reading of the MRI is that Freeney has torn his quad tendon and that there will be a second opinion after further evaluation of the film. If that reading says the same, Freeney will be at serious risk of missing the rest of the season.
Freeney signed with the Chargers to bolster their pass rush after linebacker Melvin Ingram tore his ACL in May. Freeney has only recorded a half-sack so far this season, but he’s provided solid pressure while playing three-quarters of the snaps and the Chargers don’t have too many other options on the roster when it comes to applying pressure on quarterbacks. Larry English and Tourek Williams are the next men up at outside linebacker with Ingram on the PUP list in the unlikely event that he’s able to make a rapid enough return from his injury to help the team this season.
If Freeney is done for the year, it might also signal the curtain on his career. He turns 34 in February and his returns have been diminishing for the last three years, which can only be partially attributed to the move away from his familiar defensive end position after the 2011 season. A serious leg injury won’t help on that front any more than it helps the Chargers defense this season.