The word from Chargers coach Anthony Lynn on Tuesday morning wasn’t optimistic about the chances that running backs Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler would be in the lineup against the Chiefs on Thursday.
Ekeler remained out of practice Tuesday with a neck injury and a concussion, but the news about Gordon was more positive. Gordon was a limited participant in practice for the Chargers and said that a decision on his status remains up in the air.
“I’ve been grinding hard to get back and we’re still trying to decide what we’re going to do,” Gordon said, via ESPN.com. “I know Coach is trying to be careful and doesn’t want me to further hurt myself or things like that. So we’ll see where that goes, but I’m a lot stronger and more confident than I was last week.”
If Gordon and Ekeler are both out, rookies Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome would be the running backs. Quarterback Philip Rivers said he thinks they’re up to the task and he’ll work to “take a little bit off of them so they can play fast” on Thursday.