DJ

Chark

The Falcons signed Chark in late July and are now parting ways with him after nearly a month. The veteran receiver totaled 31 receiving yards and one touchdown last season with the Chargers and has struggled to replicate the success he enjoyed in 2019 when he broke out for 73-1008-8. Now an official journeyman of the league, Chark will be looking for his fifth team in four seasons. In addition to releasing Chark, the Falcons also waived/injured QB Emory Jones (concussion) and signed QB Ben DiNucci.

Brutal. Mooney injured himself diving for a sideline pass on Thursday. It is unclear whether this is the same shoulder that he injured late last season. The Falcons do not have an obvious fill-in option for No. 2 wide receiver duties, though the team can do worse than KhaDarel Hodge and Ray-Ray McCloud. Veteran WR DJ Chark was signed this afternoon. Hopefully, Mooney makes a swift recovery and filling his shoes at practice becomes a non-issue.

In Chark’s 2024 season with the Chargers, he caught just 4-of-9 targets for 31 yards and one touchdown. He is no longer an efficient field-stretcher but his signing worryingly comes one day after Darnell Mooney left practice early. Chark does not need to be considered as a late-round option but Mooney’s status should be monitored.

Chark is reportedly weighing his options as he looks to enter his eighth NFL season. The veteran receiver spent last season with the Chargers, totaling four catches for 31 yards and one touchdown in seven games. It’s possible that the sudden retirement of Mike Williams could spark interest in a return to Los Angeles. Chark battled injuries during the season and lost playing time as the year went on, and has had a relatively quiet market this offseason. Chark shouldn’t be considered a lock to make the Bears’ 53-man roster, should he sign with them.

Chark is now five years removed from his lone 1,000-yard season. The 28-year-old is past his prime and a setback stemming from his August hip injury certainly did not help. The Chargers are still trying to establish their long-term receiving corps personnel so re-upping for another season may be Chark’s best bet.

Chark played a full-time role but only managed one grab in the season-ending loss to Houston. Chark — a one-time 1,000-yard wideout — managed just four catches for 31 scoreless yards in seven regular season games. An unrestricted free agent entering his age-29 season, Chark’s NFL prospects are dim headed into 2025.

It was just his fourth catch as a Charger and his first touchdown with the team. Chark has played sparingly in LA even when healthy, but the loss of Josh Palmer put him in a more prominent role this week. Both he and Derius Davis saw some extra reps sans Palmer, who is dealing with a heel injury. If Palmer isn’t ready for the playoffs, Chark will have some single-game DFS appeal versus Houston.

“Simple. No underlying meanings. It is what it is. It’s a meritocracy out there,” Harbaugh added. If there were any deep-league Chark believers left out there, we think you can let go of the rope.

Not that we think there were a lot of long-term Chark believers out there still, but it doesn’t appear he’s going to emerge in the Chargers’ receiver pecking order without injuries ahead of him. Chark is droppable in all but the deepest of leagues at this point.

He was deactivated despite being activated off injured reserve on Saturday and warming up with Justin Herbert, which certainly isn’t a great sign for whatever deep league value he might have. Herbert will have Quentin Johnston (ankle) and Ladd McConkey (hip) today alongside Josh Palmer. Also inactive for the Chargers are CB Kristian Fulton, TE Stone Smartt, OL Brenden Jaimes, DL Justin Eboigbe, OL Jordan McFadden, and third quarterback Easton Stick.