Source: Jake Roth/US PRESSWIRE
Hope can’t heal bones.
I wrote earlier this week that Ryan Mathews was still hopeful he’d play against the Raiders on Monday, but that doesn’t seem likely now.
“Running back Ryan Mathews is still building toward a return from a broken clavicle suffered Aug. 9,” Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego reported today. “It doesn’t appear he’s been cleared for contact yet, as he ran through individual drills in shorts without a helmet or pads.”
That’s what he’s been doing all week.
Shorts. Running. Catching.
Although it was encouraging how fast Mathews progressed, it looks like he’s going to come up short here. His only chance was to get cleared for contact early this week. Since the Chargers seem unwilling to rush him, Ronnie Brown will assuredly get the start on Monday.
Mathews came into the season with the goal of playing all 16 games.
Hope wasn’t enough to get him past the first one.
