COSTA MESA, Calif. -- It’s a shame that someone as talented as Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett will possibly never be healthy enough to show the rest of the NFL his unique skill set.
The TCU product suffered an Achilles tear during conditioning on Friday, ending his season. It's the third-straight season that Verrett will miss significant time.
Since the Chargers selected him with the No. 25 selection in the 2014 draft, Verrett has missed a total of 39 games. The one year he stayed healthy, Verrett flashed shutdown cover skills and made the Pro Bowl after the 2015 season.
Unfortunately, since then, Verrett has dealt with a series of knee and lower-leg injuries that have kept him off the field.
Verrett’s injury is the second major injury the Chargers have had this season, as tight end Hunter Henry suffered an ACL right knee injury that put him out for the year in May.
Unlike Henry’s injury, the Chargers are positioned to deal with Verrett’s absence on the roster.
Cornerback is perhaps the Bolts’ deepest position group on the team. Trevor Williams started in place of Verrett in 2017 and played impressively. He likely will move back to his starting role with the TCU product perhaps done for the year.
Casey Hayward, one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL, holds down the other starting cornerback spot. The Chargers have a playmaker at slot defender in Desmond King and capable backups in Michael Davis, Craig Mager and Jeff Richards.
“There’s great competition amongst them,” Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said about the cornerback position. “Every play, you have to be on it. With competition, it just keeps elevating the level of play. As a coach, that’s what you want on a team.”
Even though the Chargers have talented players to compensate for Verrett’s loss, that does not make his absence any less significant. The Chargers are paying Verrett $8.526 million this season and likely will not get any production for that financial commitment.
With Henry out and Verrett as well, a team that was one of the favorites to win the AFC West is suddenly ailing. The Chargers cannot afford to lose more frontline players due to injury before the start of the regular season if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013.