EL SEGUNDO — Khalil Mack doesn’t often join his Chargers teammates for practice on Wednesdays. Officially, its status is listed as NIR – Rest. As in, he wasn’t nursing an injury, but he had an extra day to rest and recover from last week’s game and to prepare for this week’s game.
This is nothing new for the 11-year NFL veteran.
It was a schedule developed in conjunction with former Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who wanted to make sure Mack was fresh for the next upcoming game. After so many years playing the difficult role of outside linebacker, Mack doesn’t necessarily need to practice.
What he usually needs is a break. What was new and different Friday was that Mack was considered questionable to play Sunday for the Chargers (5-3) against the Tennessee Titans (2-6) due to a groin injury. He did not practice with his teammates on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week.
“A few needles and I’m good to go,” he joked after limping off the field due to an injury late in the Chargers game. victory last Sunday against the Cleveland Brownsafter playing only about a third of the defensive snaps. “I’ll be ready (to face the Titans on Sunday at SoFi Stadium).”
At least reporters assumed Mack was joking.
After all, it had been an eventful afternoon.
Mack was credited with four tackles, including a sack of Browns quarterback Jameis Winston and two tackles for loss of yards. He was able to play a smaller number of snaps, in part because teammate Tuli Tuipulotu had a monster game with four tackles, including 2.5 sacks.
However, when the first injury report of the week arrived in reporters’ inboxes on Wednesday, Mack was listed as dealing with a groin injury. It was the same Thursday, too, although he spent a lot of time working out on the sidelines with a member of the Chargers’ athletic practice squad.
Was he seriously in danger of missing a game for the first time since the Chargers acquired him from the Chicago Bears on March 10, 2022? He had played all 17 games in each of the 2022 and 23 seasonsearning the seventh and eighth Pro Bowl selections of his Hall of Fame caliber career.
“I’m getting closer, man, I’m close, man, I’m getting closer,” Mack said Thursday. “It was a really good day out there, running. I’m going to go out and see how I feel (Friday). Yeah, yeah, I have to go early (Friday) and we’ll see how it goes from there. You have to take it day by day.
Mack credited Wednesday’s off days as being the key to his longevity.
“It adds some shelf life here,” he said. “We came up with this when I got here with Staley and it could have bought me five more years at that point. These Wednesdays, you know, you wear towels. I don’t need that veteran’s blue like when I was younger.
“It definitely worked to my advantage.”
Wednesdays normally include a visit to the weight room for a workout with Ben Herbert, the Chargers’ director of player performance. Mack doesn’t put on his helmet or pads, but that doesn’t mean the day is pure relaxation. In fact, it might be as taxing as anything he does in practice all week.
“We’re getting there, man, having fun in the weight room and doing whatever I need for the day, whether it’s running in the pool or whatever,” Mack said. “No, I don’t take any days off. They call it a spa day, but it’s definitely not a spa day, especially with “Herb” for an hour and some changes.
