The Los Angeles Chargers may have avoided a significant injury to one of Justin Herbert's most important weapons.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and LA reporter Kris Rhim, wide receiver Ladd McConkey is dealing with a rib injury and will be monitored throughout the week. His status for next Sunday's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders remains up in the air.

#Chargers WR Ladd McConkey is dealing a rib injury and he’ll be monitored throughout the week. Sounds like his status is up in the air against the #Raiders next week. pic.twitter.com/2uAwaAJj1I

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2026

Considering the concern whenever a player exits with a rib injury, that's at least an encouraging initial update for Los Angeles. The Chargers will now have several days to evaluate how McConkey responds before determining whether he can play in Week 2 against Vegas.

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Losing him for any amount of time would still be a major blow. McConkey was off to an excellent start against the Arizona Cardinals before suffering the injury, finding the end zone as Los Angeles' offense came out firing in Mike McDaniel's debut as offensive coordinator.

Unfortunately for the Chargers, McConkey's injury added to an afternoon that quickly went downhill. Arizona adjusted defensively and pulled away for a 26-14 victory, handing Los Angeles an ugly Week 1 loss.

Now McDaniel and Herbert could be forced to prepare for Las Vegas without one of the offense's top playmakers. The fact that McConkey hasn't immediately been ruled out is encouraging, but his participation in practice will be something to monitor throughout the week.

Los Angeles already has plenty to clean up after its disappointing opener. Having McConkey available against the Raiders would make that task significantly easier. LA cannot afford to start 0-2 with the schedule they have.