For several weeks, questions have swirled regarding whether and to what extent Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is playing with injuries. He could be playing with an injury that is bad enough that perhaps he shouldn’t be playing.
The Chargers recently acknowledged that Rivers has a back injury. He missed practice Tuesday and Wednesday, critical sessions before a Saturday game against the 49ers, due to the injury.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the back injury is “more severe than the team has acknowledged.”
Technically, teams aren’t required to acknowledge the severity of any injury. Teams simply must disclose on the thrice-weekly practice reports whether the player didn’t practice, practiced on a limited basis, or practiced fully with one or more injuries. Once per week, the team must apply a label reflecting the player’s anticipated availability for the game.
In Rivers’ case, the fact that he actually missed practice due to the back injury suggests that it’s significant, given that he had missed no practices due to what teammate Antonio Gates told reporters was a “severe rib injury.” (Gates later backtracked, predictably; the team eventually disclosed that Rivers has a chest injury.)
Rivers said Wednesday that he’ll play on Saturday. Thursday’s final injury report before the Saturday night game will reveal plenty about whether Rivers will indeed be able to go.
Given that the guy once played a postseason game with a torn ACL and presumably has battled through plenty of other injuries to do his job, don’t be surprised to see him play.