Danario Alexander had both knees covered Tuesday when standing quietly on the Chargers sideline.
The left www.nikechargersnflshop.com/WOMENS-MANTI-TEO-JERSEY.html was in a black brace, a reminder of his injury past. The right was draped in ice and bandage, a grim development to his present and NFL future.
The Chargers wide receiver made contact with a defensive back during practice, suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the team announced. He is expected to undergo reconstructive surgery and miss the entire 2013 season.
Alexander caught 37 passes for 658 yards and seven touchdowns over the final nine games last year, all team highs in that span. There was no doubt he can produce, but the question was whether he could stay healthy given an extensive medical history that includes five operations on his left knee.
Tuesday’s injury is a blow, both to the Chargers and the career of an otherwise promising playmaker.
Alexander turns 25 today. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2014 after signing a $1.323 million tender in April.
Malcom Floyd, Vincent Brown, Eddie Royal, rookie Keenan Allen and Robert Meachem are left atop the team’s wide receiver depth chart. Brown figures to start opposite Floyd but is expected to miss Thursday’s exhibition opener, having just returned to practice Tuesday from a hamstring strain.
Alexander is the third Chargers player to tear his ACL on the practice field in as many months.
Outside linebacker Melvin Ingram tore his left ACL on May 14 while making an inside pass rush move on the second day of organized team activities. Reserve inside linebacker Jonas Mouton tore his right ACL during a non-contact play on July 25, the first day of Manti Te'o Jersey training camp.
Then came Tuesday.
Alexander www.nikechargersnflshop.com was working against cornerback Shareece Wright in press coverage. The two made contact as Alexander fought to gain separation on an in-breaking route, not enough contact for Alexander to fall to the ground but enough, the team was surprised to learn, to deliver a season-ending diagnosis.
“It’s just one of those things where I’ve got to play my game, and he’s trying to play his,” Wright said after practice. “He’s trying to beat me, and I’m trying to beat him.”
Wright described it as “scary” to see his teammate in pain. The defensive back was among the veterans to approach Alexander while he stood on the sideline for about an hour before retiring to the athletic trainer’s room. Unlike in the cases of Ingram and Mouton, the injury was not believed to be serious until a post-practice MRI revealed otherwise.
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