Only one no show at rookie workouts

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Monday, Jul 21, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner wouldn’t make any predictions Monday when asked about the contract status of first-round draft pick Antoine Cason, simply saying that he’s hopeful that Cason is in camp soon.

“I wish he was here, but he’s not,” Turner said. “I never try to speculate on progress: are they close, are they not close. There’s no such thing in my mind. It’s either done or it’s not done. I thought it would be done now, it’s not. When it’s done he’ll get in here and start practicing.”

Chargers rookies, first-year players and select veterans were on the field Monday morning as they got a head start on training camp, but Cason was not able to join them due to his contract status.

Cason is the only one of the Chargers’ five draft picks who has yet to sign his rookie contract. As of Monday afternoon, only six of the 31 first-round picks from April’s draft had signed. That group includes the top four overall picks. Neither the 26^th nor 28^th picks, the players selected directly before and after Cason, have signed.

Following Monday’s practice, Turner praised Cason for the work he did during the team’s offseason program but also emphasized the importance of him getting to camp soon.

“He missed things today that would have benefited him greatly,” Turner said. We probably had 18 or 20 plays of third down coverages against things he’s going to see during the season. Every day a guy misses, it doesn’t help him, particularly young guys. As soon as we can get him in it will be a positive.”

A good start

Not every team brings in their young players early, but Turner likes to do so and believes his young players benefit greatly from the experience.

“You find out how much they’ve retained and you give them a little jump start so when everyone comes into camp on Friday you’ve eliminated some of the mistakes that come from not being around it for a month and a half,” Turner said. “It’s a good reminder for the young guys.”

Joining the rookies and first-year players this week are quarterbacks Philip Rivers, Billy Volek, Charlie Whitehurst and Casey Bramlett, wide receivers Buster Davis, Legedu Naanee and Mark Jones, linebackers Brandon Siler and Carlos Polk and center Cory Withrow.

The group will practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before the veterans join them Friday.

Looking good

A testament to just how far Rivers has come in his recovery from offseason knee surgery can be found in the fact that he really wasn’t a huge story Monday morning.

Rivers ran the offense and appeared at easy as he continued to show no signs of being hampered by his surgically repaired right knee.

“I’ve been going full go now for over a month,” Rivers said. “There’s nothing I can’t do. To be honest with you, there are times throughout the day when I can’t tell which knee I hurt. It’s still got to go a long way. It needs to continue to get stronger throughout the season, but I really feel better health-wise than I could ever hope for at this point.”

Rivers began working with the full offense during Offseason Coaching Sessions, just four months after having his ACL reconstructed. He doesn’t expect to hold back at all during training camp or sit out any practices.

Waters to miss time

Second-year linebacker Anthony Waters will miss the first 2-3 weeks of training camp after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his knee last Friday.

“He had just a little bit of a twinge,” Turner said. “They looked at it and felt it needed to be done. We’d rather do it now than hope he can get through and then do it in three weeks and have him miss (time). If we’re lucky, he’ll get a week of practice before the first preseason game and be ready for that.”

The operation was conducted on Waters’ left knee, the same one that caused him to miss his senior season at Clemson. The procedure was routine and the Chargers expect him back on the field early in camp.

Waters has an opportunity to compete for a starting job at the “Mike” linebacker position while Stephen Cooper serves a four-game suspension at the beginning of the season.

Hardwick update

Chargers center Nick Hardwick, who underwent foot surgery in March, has been aggressively rehabbing at Chargers Park in hopes of getting back on the field as soon as possible.

“Nick’s made progress and he’s another guy that’s on schedule,” said Turner. “He’s on schedule for what they told us. He’s been out here, he’s been running, he’s been working on pass sets. He’s been doing his rehab.

Turner said Hardwick is still a ways away from returning to the practice field but both the staff and the Pro Bowl center feel good about his progress.

“I couldn’t speculate to you when he would be ready, but I know from a standpoint of where they hoped he would be, he’s there,” Turner said. “He feels very good about where he is physically.”

Turner mentioned that Hardwick, tight end Antonio Gates and fullback Andrew Pinnock could start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. If a player begins training camp on the “PUP” list, they can be moved to the active roster at any time, even after one practice.

A player who begins the regular season on the PUP list must sit out his team's first six games. After that point, the player is allowed to practice with the team through Week 10 of the NFL season, and can be activated any time within that window.

No LT in preseason

Turner reiterated Monday that LaDainian Tomlinson will follow his preseason routine of using training camp to get ready while sitting out the four preseason contests.

“Having him carry the ball 8 or 10 times in the preseason just to say we did it, it just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Turner said. “He can get himself ready to play. He’s gotten himself ready to play the last three or four years without playing in the preseason. He can get ready out here in the practice field. He keeps himself in such great shape and he’s got great ball security. He gets tackled enough. He’ll be ready to go when the season starts.”

Mike Nowak, Chargers.com

Fullback Jacob Hester and the Chargers rookies got things rolling Monday.

	Charger injury updates Chargers head coach Norv Tuner has latest on progress of QB Philip Rivers, TE Antonio Gates and others. Play
	Philip Rivers on knee Chargers QB Philip Rivers discusses the progress of his knee rehabilitation from training camp. Play
	Antonio Gates on toe Chargers TE Antonio Gates says his surgically repaired toe is progressing well. Play
	Training Camp: Norv Turner Head coach Norv Turner talks to the local media about the start of Training Camp 2008, and he also gives an injury update on TE Antonio Gates & C Nick Hardwick. Play
	Training Camp: Philip Rivers QB Philip Rivers talks with the local media on the first day of Training Camp. Play
	Training Camp: Antonio Gates TE Antonio Gates talks about his recovery from a toe injury that occurred in last seasons playoffs. Play