IF Malcom Floyd's knee injury is worse than anticipated, the San Diego Charger's season has been flushed down the toilet. No Floyd means the Chargers are left with below average receivers and will immediately enter a fight for last place in the AFC West.
Okay, so the Kansas City Chiefs are pretty bad and the Oakland Raiders are working on getting their quarterback mess lined up. However, Philip Rivers is probably the best quarterback in the league with the worst wide receiver tandem. Here are the numbers.
Rivers was 17th in the league with 3,606 yards passing in 2012. Look at the rest of the guys on the list and you'll notice they had a big time receiver. Rivers' best wide out was Floyd, who finished with a team high 56 receptions and 814 yards. Vincent Jackson might have been a headache, but he was a talented player and was Rivers' best target. Antonio Gates is a decent tight end, but he's aging. The next two leaders in catchers were running backs Ronnie Brown and Ryan Mathews. Danario Alexander posted career highs in receptions with 37, totaling 658 yards and seven touchdowns, but he is out with a torn ACL.
Eddie Royal went ghost in 2012, catching 23 passes for only 234 yards and a touchdown. He will have to step up along with everybody else on a team. Robert Meachem was simply a name on a jersey. After decent seasons with the New Orleans Saints, Meachem had a very poor 2012 campaign that saw him catch only 14 receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns. It is believed that Floyd's injury will keep Meachem in a Chargers jersey as the organization will look to keep its depth at the receiver position.
The Chargers are expected to bump Vincent Brown, 24-year-old wide receiver, to the No. 1 option. He played one season in the NFL with the Chargers back in 2011. He went for 329 yards on 19 receptions, scoring two touchdowns.
As of now, reports have Floyd with a sprained knee. They don't believe it will be anything as serious as a torn ACL, which is great news for them. However, this means everybody else; Royal, Meachem, Vincent Brown and Gates will have to step up their games if the Chargers plan on making a serious run in their division.