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Austin Ekeler out of practice for second-straight day

DSprofileby:Dustin Schutte•09/14/23•

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austin ekeler
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a good chance the Chargers will be without star running back Austin Ekeler in Week 2. He did not practice for a second-straight day on Thursday, according to a report from Daniel Popper of The Athletic.

Ekeler rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries for Los Angeles in a 36-34 season-opening loss to Miami. He exited the game early with an ankle injury. The ankle is still impacting the running back, leaving his Week 2 status in doubt.

In addition to more than 100 yards on the ground, Ekeler also accounted for 47 yards on four catches. He’s a huge piece of the Chargers offense, which could be severely hindered without him on the field.

Los Angeles travels to Nashville to play the Titans in Week 2.

Ekeler, who has been with the Chargers since entering the NFL in 2017, is coming off the best statistical season of his career in 2022. He rushed for a career-best 915 yards and scored 13 rushing touchdowns for Los Angeles.

The versatile back also caught 107 passes for 722 yards and five more scores. He’s eclipsed the 900-yard mark on the ground each of the past two seasons and has accounted for 39 total touchdowns since the start of the 2021 season.

Five Chargers listed as ‘questionable’ for Week 2

Ekeler isn’t the lone Charger who is questionable for Sunday’s game against Tennessee. Four others are listed on the injury report under that specification, per ESPN.

The injury report out of L.A. ahead of Week 2 lists the following players as questionable:

  • Daiyan Henley, LB
  • Chris Rumph, LB
  • Eric Kendricks, LB
  • Joey Bosa, LB/DE
  • Austin Ekeler, RB

Both Los Angeles and Tennessee enter this Sunday’s game with 0-1 records. The Chargers dropped their season opener to the Dolphins while the Titans fell 16-15 to the Saints in New Orleans.

Sunday’s game will be important for both teams, although it is still very early in the 2023 regular season.

The Chargers lead the all-time series 19-18-1. They also posted a 17-14 victory in last year’s meeting between the two sides. Los Angeles has also claimed three victories in the last four contests.

Sunday’s game between the Chargers and Titans is scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff. The game airs on CBS and Los Angeles enters the game as a 3-point favorite. We’ll see if that line shifts based on Ekeler’s availability.