The Los Angeles Chargers -- and fantasy football owners -- can exhale a little bit as it relates to Austin Ekeler. The running back made his return to practice on Friday on a limited basis and is officially ruled as questionable for Sunday's Week 1 matchup with the Washington Football Team. This was the first time that Ekeler had practiced in any capacity this week as he was previously held out due to a hamstring injury.
Head coach Brandon Staley gave even more encouraging news when asked about Ekeler getting back onto the practice field.
"He looked good out there," he said, via The Athletic's Daniel Popper. "Optimistic for sure."
Of course, Ekeler isn't out of the woods quite yet as hamstrings do tend to be one of the trickier injuries to fully recover from, especially for players with his skill set. Ekeler also has a history of hamstring injuries (missed six games last season), so this is certainly still a situation to monitor. Nevertheless, this is promising news for a Chargers offense, who are primed to lean on the 26-year-old as both their primary pass-catching back and on early downs.
Ekeler is entering his fifth season with the Chargers and is coming off a 2020 campaign where he totaled 933 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns in 10 games played.
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