Chargers HC Brandon Staley on Austin Johnson’s return: ‘He’s ready to play’

The Chargers were riddled with injuries last season, and one of the key losses was of defensive tackle Austin Johnson.

Johnson suffered a fractured knee and MCL injury in Los Angeles’ Week 9 win over the Falcons and spent the remainder of the 2022 season on injured reserve.

Johnson was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list after he passed his physical on Aug. 17.

“He’s ready to play,” Brandon Staley said. “He wouldn’t be active if we didn’t think that he could play. There’s probably going to be a certain amount of snaps that we kind of have projected for him. But he’s going to be full speed.”

Before he got hurt, Johnson was a cog in the middle of the defensive line. He was tied for the team lead in run stops with 14 and led the team in run stop percentage at 11.4%.

Having him back on the field will be vital as the Bolts look to improve their run defense from last season.

The Chargers finished 27th in the league, allowing 144.2 yards rushing per game. A lot of the damage came after Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia sustained their season-ending injuries.

Ogbonnia is still on the IR and will miss the first four games of the season as he continues to work his way back from his knee injury.