Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon will not play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
Gordon has been battling a knee injury that has kept him out of the Chargers’ previous two games.
Gordon sprained his right knee Nov. 25 against the Cardinals when Arizona defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche leg-whipped him to the ground on a 10-yard loss.
He has already missed games against the Steelers and Bengals this month — both victories for the 10-3 Chargers.
“I’ve been grinding hard to get back and we’re still trying to decide what we’re going to do,” Gordon said Tuesday. “I know Coach [Anthony Lynn] is trying to be careful and doesn’t want me to further hurt myself or things like that. So we’ll see where that goes, but I’m a lot stronger and more confident than I was last week.”
Austin Ekeler, Gordon’s backup, is also out after suffering a stinger and a concussion against the Bengals. Running back Justin Jackson should get his first career start Thursday on the road, backed up by another rookie, undrafted free agent Detrez Newsome.