San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews and linebackers Melvin Ingram, Jeremiah Attaochu and Manti Te’o all returned to practice Wednesday as full participants as the team prepares for its toughest stretch of its schedule.
Mathews’ return will provide a relief for the Chargers, who rank last in the NFL in yards-per-carry. He has been out since suffering an MCL sprain while playing against the Seattle Seahawks in week two.
“It will be great (because) obviously he’ll be fresh and won’t have the bumps and bruises that you normally have as a runner at this point in the season,” quarterback Philip Rivers said.
Relief at linebacker is also crucial, as the Bolts have not collected collected a sack in their past two games.
“They worked extremely hard since they’ve been out, so they’re taking it a day at a time,” coach Mike McCoy said. “There’s still some time to decide exactly who’s going and who’s not going and things like that, but it’s great to have them back out there on the practice field to see where they are at this current time.”
Attaochu may be able provide immediate impact, as he showed in the first week against the Cardinals when he recorded a sack, blocked a punt and wound up winning Defensive Rookie of the Week. Since then though, Attaochu has been on and off due to a hamstring injury, and has been active for just two games.
Ingram has been dealing with a hip injury since week two that put him on Injured-Reserve; Designated to Return, and can be activated at any point by the team.
The Chargers have also been without their 2013 second round pick Te’o after he broke his foot week three in Buffalo, N.Y. Before his injury, Te’o had racked up 19 total tackles , and one running-back stuff.
San Diego will face the Oakland Raiders at 1:05 p.m. Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. The game is televised on CBS.
