While the Kansas City Chiefs will begin the 2025 season as overwhelming favorites to win the AFC West for a whopping tenth straight season, their biggest challengers will be the Los Angeles Chargers once again. After taking a big step forward under head coach Jim Harbaugh last season and finishing 11-6, the Bolts will look to de-throne the Chiefs and win the division for the first time since 2009.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, the Chargers' 2025 season has picked right up where it left off in 2024...injured.
It's no secret that the Chargers have dealt with perhaps the most injuries in the NFL over the past number of seasons, and despite still being nearly two months away from the season kicking off, it appears as if that will be the case yet again for Jim Harbaugh's squad.
Chargers WR Mike Williams to Begin Season on PUP List
#Chargers placed five players on the PUP list, per the wire:
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) July 14, 2025
S Elijah Molden
WR Mike Williams
WR Jaylen Johnson
LB Del'Shawn Phillips
OT Savion Washington
After returning to the team that drafted him in 2017, Mike Williams has found himself on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list just days before the club is set to begin training camp. Williams joins fellow receiver Jaylen Johnson, as well as offensive tackle Savion Washington, and defenders Elijah Molden and Del'Shawn Phillips on the PUP list.
The Chargers didn't give Williams any specific injury designation, and it's worth noting that players can be placed on and removed from the PUP list at any point during training camp without having to miss regular-season games, as is the case once the preseason rolls around, next month.
The Chargers selected Williams with the seventh-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Clemson standout struggled with back and knee injuries during his rookie campaign, which saw the 2016 National Champion wideout start just one game. Williams would get back on track during his second season, racking up 664 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Between 2019 and 2021, Williams would rack up nearly 3,000 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, which earned him a three-year, $60 million extension prior to the 2022 season. After a mediocre 2022 campaign, Williams tore his ACL during the 2023 season, and he was released by the Chargers in March 2024.
Williams signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets ahead of the 2024 season, but after a public falling out with Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Williams would end 2024 with 21 receptions for 298 yards and one touchdown between his time with the Jets and Steelers.