Eddie Royal set to play

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Eddie Royal (11) dives for a touchdown in the second quarter of their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Chargers wide receiver Eddie Royal did not practice all week due to a toe injury, but it’s looking like a repeat story of Week 7 for Royal. In that week, Royal missed practice every day with a toe injury, but he was still able to play on Sunday and managed to catch four passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. Now coming off of a bye week, Royal once again did not practice all week with that same toe injury and was once again listed questionable on the Chargers official injury report.

However, he is set to play this week and shouldn’t miss a beat, as the Chargers may have simply decided to prioritize rest over practice for Royal. The U-T San Diego’s Michael Gehlken reports that “it appears” that Royal will be able to play today despite that pesky toe injury. It was a surprise to see him play in Week 7, but nobody is surprised to see the same scenario fold just two weeks later.

It’s interesting to see, though, that the bye week apparently didn’t allow Royal to heal up enough from the toe injury. However, it may have just been a scenario where the Chargers decided to rest him up all week, which is a bit unorthodox. Getting Royal back this week against the Washington Redskins porous pass defense is nice, and we’ll see if he can be a factor in the red zone. Royal has six  touchdown passes this season, but I fully expect today’s game to be much more about Antonio Gates and Keenan Allen than Royal, who should see his snaps limited. It’s becoming a joy watching Philip Rivers go to work with Gates and Allen at his disposal, and Rivers should have a monster game against the Redskins.

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