From The Podium | Staley, Chargers Ready for 2nd Half of Season

The Chargers received some unfortunate news following the win over the Falcons this past Sunday.

After leaving the game in the second half, defensive lineman Austin Johnson’s status was updated by Staley on Monday.

“Austin Johnson has an injury to his MCL and a fracture to his knee, and he will be out for the season,” Staley said.

Johnson had put together a good season on the interior of the defensive line, and his absence will be felt on the field. But Staley says that Johnson will still contribute in a different way.

“I’m really disappointed because Austin [Johnson] has been fantastic since he’s gotten here,” Staley said on Monday. “I love coaching him, we love coaching him, but this is part of the NFL. We’ll get him back here soon.

“He’s going to stay with us and he is going to be a key contributor, helping these guys throughout the rest of the season,” Staley added.

On Wednesday, defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko was signed to the active roster from the practice squad and in a corresponding move, placed Johnson on Injured Reserve.

Fehoko now joins an interior with Joseph-Day, Morgan Fox, Jerry Tillery, Christian Covington and Otito Ogbonnia — all players who have seen the field for the Bolts this year.

This week of practice will be big in deciding who will take over for Johnson according to Staley, as they are going to let them compete in preparation for a 49ers team with a dynamic run game.

“We’re going to let guys compete during practice and see how practice goes,” Staley said. “We’re going to be looking from within our team, but we want to get those guys a fair chance to compete, get them the reps so that we can see them, and make our decisions later on in the week.”

Joseph-Day who, like Johnson, was brought in this past offseason to sure up the interior of the defensive line, talked about the loss, adding that while you can’t make up for a loss like his, there are players that will be ready to step up.

“That’s the thing,…