Los Angeles Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz has been a busy man throughout his first year with the Bolts. He has gone out and signed unsung heroes, drafted steals and looked for reclamation projects. However, one of his swings… ended up as a miss. That would be former 1000-yard receiver, D.J. Chark.
Former Pro-Bowl Receiver Is Now A Healthy Scratch for Chargers
DJ Chark: His Career Leading up to His Signing
DJ Chark was drafted in the second round by the Jacksonville Jaguars to help sure up their receiving room. As a size/speed archetype of a receiver, the sky was the limit for the LSU product.
After a tough rookie season, Chark bounced back and had a pro-bowl season. He recorded 1008 yards and eight touchdowns with a poor quarterback situation. A young receiver in his second season who already reached a Pro Bowl is a good sign for any NFL player.
This is an insane catch by DJ Chark.
Won't get much attention because it didn't gain a lot of yards but look where the ball was when he finally got his head around.
Cat-like reflexes or Jaguar-like pic.twitter.com/sLGfX54cZy
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) September 18, 2019
His very next season was riddled with injuries, but he still toughed out 13 games and 706 yards with five touchdowns. This pattern would continue, wherein the very next season he only played four games and did not get a contract extension from the Jaguars.
He would move onto Detroit in a high-flying offense, and carve out a strong role in the offense. Still battling through injuries, Chark would play 11 games and record 502 yards and three touchdowns.
DJ CHARK DO DO, DO DO DO DO
LIONS BACK IN FRONT
pic.twitter.com/fSxUFBkpbi— Barstool Detroit (@BSMotorCity) December 11, 2022
Detroit opted to give their first-round rookie, Jameson Williams a bigger role in his second season, allowing Chark to walk in free agency.
Chark’s last stop before the Bolts was Carolina. A terrible offense. Chark made the most of it, earning 525 yards and five touchdowns while staying healthy for the majority of the season.
DJ Chark with the grab 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Yefz6IpORQ
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) December 24, 2023
The Excitement Brewing in the Offseason for the Former Pro-Bowl Receiver
The Chargers saw his production in a poor situation, and a chance for him to go back to his pro-bowl level status with super-star quarterback, Justin Herbert.
He was signed to the team on May 2nd, 2024.
During the off-season, Chark was catching passes from Herbert, working with the first team. He looked like the featured receiver in the offense, and the solution to the Chargers “X” receiver problem.
With highlight-level plays brewing, the thought was that Chark could bring the dynamism that was desperately missing in 2023.
DJ Chark has played well: here’s a 60 yard TD from today pic.twitter.com/aijIw1w139
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) July 30, 2024
A Swift Reminder of the Risk Associated With the Signing of DJ Chark
Unfortunately for Chark, his injury issues followed him to Los Angeles. He was placed on injured reserve a day before the Bolts first regular season game. Chark would end up missing eight games, making his return against the Tennessee Titans. He did not register a stat.
A weird situation for the Chargers receiver’s first week back. Maybe he was still recovering from his injury, so the hope was this last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, he would be back to help this Chargers team go on a run against this tough schedule coming up.
He was a healthy scratch dressed in street clothes.
So what is going on with the former Pro-Bowl receiver?
Why Is Chark Riding the Bench?
This situation has been very closed off from the Chargers coaching staff and front office. There has been little information on Chark’s situation with the team.
This has led me to believe that there are two possible answers to why he is not playing.
A Set-in-Stone Receiving Corps
The Chargers are on a roll, winning four games in a row, doing so while scoring more than 26 in every game.
As the cliche goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
What isn’t broken is the Chargers receiver room. The Chargers boast rookie of the year candidate, Ladd McConkey who is on pace for over 1000 yards and to be the Chargers featured receiver for years to come.
This coupled with former first-round selection, Quentin Johnston’s continued evolution, and the consistent play of the now veteran, Joshua Palmer, the Chargers really do not have a lot of need in the receiving room.
People wrote Quentin Johnston off way too early. Happy to see his success this season.
— Kevin (@Daboys_22) November 18, 2024
To build in-season chemistry over players who have been with Herbert for a long time/been healthy all year long is really hard to do. Chark finds himself in an uphill battle for offensive snaps for the Chargers.
To play devil’s advocate; adding a player of his caliber shouldn’t ever be a “hard no” like it has been for the Chargers. The situation remains odd, and it could be my next point.
Possibly Still Not Fully Healthy – Even With The Coaching Staff Saying He Is?
It isn’t often a player like Chark comes back from the injury reserve return window and is still hurt. The team wouldn’t otherwise designate his return and lose a roster spot if he was not ready.
If they jumped the gun a week, then that is within the understandability of error. However, two weeks into his return, he went from playing one snap of offense to not even suiting up against a good team.
It should be noted that Harbaugh has come out and said that Chark simply has not earned playing time over certain Chargers receivers.
However, Harbaugh as great as Harbaugh is, what comes out of his mouth to the media should always be taken with a grain of salt. Especially with injury-related information.
The possibility that he is still hurt and unfortunately not in good enough health to perform at his best, and the Chargers misread his injury situation and hoped he would “tough it out” is very real.
Expecting a triumphant, strong return out of Chark is likely not in the fold for this season with the Chargers. The goal for him is to get fully healthy and carve out a role with the team in the future. There are still seven regular-season games left in the season. He could very well be the ace in the Chargers back pocket for the playoffs.
Main Photo Courtesy of Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
