COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Although the Los Angeles Chargers were encouraged enough by Mike Williams' progress in his recovery from a lower-back disc herniation to place him on the active roster, general manager Tom Telesco said the rookie receiver out of Clemson will not practice this week as the team begins preparation for the season opener on the road next Monday against the Denver Broncos.
“He’s still maybe a couple weeks away from practicing,” Telesco told the team’s website. “But it’s very encouraging. The progress has been really good. He’s been running on the side, so we’ll keep moving forward on that.
“We have to stay with the same plan we’ve had. But at least now it’s good that you start to see the end a little bit, and I think he’s getting excited about actually putting a helmet on and running some routes, catching some balls from the quarterback. So we’re getting there. He’s not quite ready for practice, but we’re getting closer.”
Telesco also talked about the decision to put middle linebacker Denzel Perryman on the active roster.
The Miami product had ankle surgery last week and is expected to be out at least two months. However, Perryman has to be on the Chargers' active roster until Monday for the team to place him on injured reserve and use the designated-to-return option.
Once Perryman is placed on injured reserve, it will free up a spot for the team to potentially re-sign veteran quarterback Kellen Clemens.
“The plan for [Perryman] is that he would be able to come back at some point during the year,” Telesco said. “So if we put him on injured reserve, in order to use that designation he has to count on the roster until Monday.
“So he’ll be on the roster until Monday, and then we’ll put him on injured reserve, fully hoping that when the time comes he’ll be able to come back and play, and then we’ll make a roster move at that point.”
Telesco also discussed the decision to keep undrafted rookie Younghoe Koo over incumbent kicker Josh Lambo. The Chargers' initial, 53-man roster has five undrafted rookies: Austin Ekeler, Nigel Harris, James Onwualu, Sean Culkin and Koo.
“Obviously a very difficult decision -- Josh has been with us the last couple years and has done a very good job for us,” Telesco said. “But Younghoe came in and quite frankly he just made his kicks. He was very, very consistent every day in practice. So we’re excited about him.
“We think he has the mentality to handle this. The lights are going to be a little brighter in Denver, but we like his makeup. We like his demeanor. We’re proud of him for making the team, and we’re confident in him right now.”