Harbaugh: McConkey (ribs) won’t practice today

Justin Herbert and the flailing Chargers skill position players have appeared almost comically confused about all the pre-snap motion OC Mike McDaniel uses. That came through in the team’s embarrassing Week 6 loss to the Chiefs when players were bumping into each other during pre-snap motion calls from Herbert. Head coach Jim Harbaugh acknowledged the team is considering narrowing the offensive playbook during their bye week. “Definitely looking at volume and where you can make it to where the players can understand,” Harbaugh said when asked about how Chargers players were adjusting to McDaniel’s complex offense. The Chargers have used pre-snap motion on 74 percent of their snaps, the fourth highest rate in the NFL. Last year they used motion on 56 percent of their snaps. Hopefully these adjustments lead to some production for the NFL’s worst offense.

McConkey exited the game after a 17-yard reception in the first quarter and was seen entering the blue medical tent before being helped to the locker room. The quickness with which he was ruled out could mean the injury is on the severe side. The Chargers are down to their fifth and sixth wideouts on the depth chart. Justin Herbert likely won’t be fantasy relevant for the rest of the season.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said he did not know if McConkey or Quentin Johnston would be on snap counts on Sunday. Cool. What we do know is that the Chargers desperately need a win and McConkey is their best receiver, so the incentives are certainly aligned to get McConkey into the fantasy WR3 discussion even with a pitch count.

McConkey is on track to once again be active on game day, but it is unclear how involved he will be. Two limited sessions are a good sign, but it would be great to see him practice fully tomorrow. In that instance, starting him as a WR2 would be far more palatable.

We, in turn, expect McConkey to be listed as a limited participant. An update will be provided if he practices in full. The Chargers’ No. 1 wide receiver was an emergency active last week, goose-egging in the box score. His early-week return to practice puts him on track to play in Week 6 against the Chiefs, but it would be great to see him practice in full by the end of the week.

McConkey was active last week but an emergency-only player and played zero snaps. With the Chargers having a Week 7 bye, we’d be surprised if they pushed McConkey to play unless they really needed him. Unfortunately, since he was already active last week, we know that they may really need him. His status is up in the air ahead of Week 6.

McConkey did not practice at all this week but was still given a questionable tag on Friday. He was always a long-shot to play after aggravating his foot injury in Week 4. With Quentin Johnston out this week as well, Tre’ Harris will be Justin Herbert’s No. 1 receiver. That puts him in the WR3 mix despite the Chargers’ dismal offensive performance through four weeks.

McConkey did not practice all week — though they might tack something on in the non-media period on Friday to make it look better — and is clearly just trying to gut it out at this point. He’ll likely be on a snap count if he does play. But Denver’s cornerback room is severely banged up, so McConkey likely remains in low-end WR2 range this week.

McConkey is firmly on the wrong side of questionable at this point, and unfortunately, the rest of the Chargers’ wide receiver corps is fairly banged up. The Chargers are on bye in Week 7. Hopefully, McConkey’s foot injury is not serious enough to keep him out until Week 8. Stay tuned.

Though head coach Jim Harbaugh ambiguously said we would get McConkey in practice, the 24-year-old is officially listed as a non-participant on Wednesday. Harbaugh also previously stated McConkey will be day-to-day after he re-aggravated the foot injury in Week 4. Ultimately, it’s unclear if McConkey will play this week given he generally pushes through injuries with little practice time, but a re-aggravation could lead to a game missed this time around. Stay tuned for practice reports later in the week to provide clarity on his Week 5 status.