Austin Ekeler Injury Update: Latest on Chargers RB for Fantasy Football Week 3

It's another week where Austin Ekeler is not practicing on Wednesday, casting a shadow of doubt on his presence for the Los Angeles Chargers' next game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

The running back suffered an ankle injury in the Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins, did not play against the Tennessee Titans in Week 2 and his status for the contest against the Vikings is now unclear.

Austin Ekeler is missing on the Chargers' offense

Austin Ekeler's injury update

The running back once again missed practice due to his ankle injury and it's unclear if he'll be healthy soon.

Head coach Brandon Staley said on Wednesday that there's no timetable for his return, which is obviously a big loss for the Los Angeles Chargers.

If you're thinking about picking Joshua Kelley on the waivers to cope with Ekeler's absence, don't do it. The strength of the Chargers' offense lies in the passing game, with Justin Herbert being one of the best quarterbacks in the league, while the trio of wide receivers composed of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Quentin Johnston is also way above the average.

Against the Tennessee Titans, Kelley amassed just 39 yards on 13 carries, which is far from a good number. With Ekeler out, you should avoid Chargers running backs at all.

What happened to Austin Ekeler?

He missed last week's game against the Tennessee Titans and it's not clear when he'll be back. It seems that his ankle injury isn't healing quickly enough as the team was first expecting.

On Wednesday, he was seen on the practice field with the rest of the team, but he wasn't taking any reps or doing any work. After practice, the team listed him as DNP.

When he was listed as doubtful for Friday's injury report, Los Angeles was optimistic that he'd return for the Week 3 game. Another missed practice erased most of its optimist.

When will Austin Ekeler return?

With Brandon Staley pointing out there's no timetable for an official return, it's all a hopeful guess at this point. The Los Angeles Chargers will face the Minnesota Vikings and the Las Vegas Raiders in the upcoming weeks before having a bye in Week 5.

If Ekeler misses the next game and the team falls to 0-3, he might play against the Raiders out of desperation to salvage the season. If the Chargers win the game, however, they might wait until his ankle fully heals, giving him one extra week to recover with the bye week.

On his own podcast - Ekeler's Edge - the Chargers star said:

"I've dealt with ankles in the past. You just got to get it to a point where you feel good, where it's taped up and you can actually feel like, 'If I get tackled, it's not going to be re-aggravated and set me back to where I was before, where I could barely walk on it.'"

"It's not something that's going to be like, 'Ah, he's out for several months' type of thing. It's a day-to-day, week-to-week situation."

Ekeler ended by saying he's hoping he's back sooner rather than later.

Who will replace Austin Ekeler for the Chargers?

Joshua Kelley is listed as RB2 on the Chargers' depth chart, which means he will slot into Ekeler's role in Week 3.

In Week 1, Kelley tallied 91 yards on 16 carriers and also managed a touchdown. Week 2 against a tough Titans defense did him no favors, though. This time, his numbers shrunk to 13 carries for 39 yards. The Chargers go up against the Vikings in Week 3 and Minnesota's defense is no Tennessee.

Even so, considering the Chargers have flattered to deceive so far, the jury's out on Kelley heading into Week 3. If you're looking to trade Kelley in fantasy football leagues, be sure to consult our trade analyzer to be certain you get a fair return.