San Diego Chargers: Ryan Matthews Hopeful for Week 1 Return, but Rushing Back Presents Unnecessary Risk

By Kris Knox
Senior Writer

When San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews suffered a broken clavicle in the team’s preseason opener against the Packers, Chargers fans immediately held their collective breath.

Mathews, who rushed for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns last season, has not played a full 16-game season since being drafted 12th overall in 2010.

It doesn’t appear that the Chargers’ starting running back will buck the trend any time soon.

While both the Chargers and Mathews are hopeful that he will be able to participate in the team’s regular-season opener on Sept. 10, such an early return appears unlikely.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that the Chargers do not expect the have Mathews on the field when the team kicks off its 2012 season against the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football.

The report came just a day after Mathews returned to practice, albeit in a non-contact capacity.

Holding Mathews out against the Raiders certainly makes sense for San Diego, especially considering his troubling injury history. Mathews has started in only 26 of a possible 32 games over the past two seasons.

While his current injury appears far less severe than initially thought (as non-severe as a broken clavicle can be, I suppose), the Chargers would be wise to proceed with caution.

Rushing Mathews back for the season opener would create an injury risk that simply doesn’t make much sense. The Chargers should be able to make due with a backfield that features Ronnie Brown, Jackie Battle and Edwin Baker against an Oakland team that ranked just 27th (136.1 yards per game) against the run a season ago.

Mathews, meanwhile, should focus solely on getting healthy for a return in Week 2 or 3. After all, history would suggest that he is unlikely to participate in all 16 games this season anyway.

The Chargers hope to lean heavily on their third-year running back in an attempt to regain their place atop the unpredictable AFC West.

However, they will never get that chance if unnecessary risks cause his current setback to become more permanent.

Follow Kris on Twitter: @Kris_Knox