The Los Angeles Chargers designated star defensive end Joey Bosa to return from injured reserve as the playoff-bound team prepares for Sunday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

The designation opens a 21-day practice window for Bosa, with a return for Sunday’s game still to be determined.

Bosa, 27, hasn’t played since Week 3 when he came away with a groin injury in a 38-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The four-time Pro Bowl selection was coming off a 2021 season when he had 10.5 sacks, his fourth career season reaching double digits.

The Chargers have been injury-prone all season, with Bosa the last of the team’s stars to make a return. Quarterback Justin Herbert played through fractured rib cartilage, while top wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams missed time.

Despite the personnel issues, the Chargers clinched their second playoff berth in nine seasons when they earned a 20-3 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night. The Chargers can’t catch the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West title, meaning their final two regular-season games will be used for playoff preparations.

The Chargers’ defense has been improving late in the season, allowing an average of 11.3 points over their last three games, all victories.

After the victory over the Colts, Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was anticipating Bosa’s return, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to take defense to win championships,” said Ekeler, who has 16 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns. “Our defense playing like that — and if we get Joey back — my goodness. I’m looking forward to watching these boys fly around.”

–Field Level Media

New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since he sustained fractured fingers on his left hand during a bye week accident in November.

McKinney was injured following an ATV accident during his vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

McKinney can be activated at any point over the next 21 days and is eligible to play in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Giants coach Brian Daboll said he wasn’t sure if McKinney would be ready to play on Sunday.

“Just starting him today,” Daboll said Thursday. “I think the first thing is just let him get out here, move around. He hasn’t played in a while, but he’s got a contraption to protect his hand. So, I figure we’ll get him started. He’s been moving around, rehabbing. His lower body’s obviously good. So, we’ll go ahead and let him practice. And then just kind of see where he’s at.”

McKinney, 23, recorded 38 tackles, one forced fumble and one sack in eight games (all starts) this season.

He has 156 tackles and six interceptions in 31 career games (28 starts) since being selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Bears are strongly considering making Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren as their next team president, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

The Bears are seeking to replace longtime president and CEO Ted Phillips, 65, who previously announced he would retire at the end of the season.

ESPN said Warren, 59, is one of the “final candidates” for the position and has interviewed in person for the job.

The Bears have been tight-lipped about the hiring process.

“We have not set a timeline for announcing Ted Phillips’ successor,” the Bears said in a statement Thursday, per ESPN. “Our search team has cast a wide net, spoken to many outstanding candidates and looks forward to introducing our next President and CEO at the process’s conclusion.”

The Big Ten released its own statement, claiming Warren did not interview for a position but rather offered his professional insight to the Bears for their hiring process.

“Over the course of three decades in professional and collegiate sports, Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren regularly receives unique opportunities and requests for his expertise from leaders across a variety of industries ranging from professional sports ownership groups to private equity firms,” the statement said. “The Commissioner utilizes each occurrence to listen, learn and assist every stakeholder in the most appropriate and effective manner. The Commissioner remains focused on the Big Ten Conference, its 14 member institutions and over 10,000 student-athletes in both regular season and postseason play.”

The Big Ten hired Warren in 2020, and his accomplishments include signing a media-rights deal reportedly worth more than $7 billion and setting the stage to bring UCLA and Southern California into the conference.

Warren was a practicing attorney in Kansas City when the St. Louis Rams hired him to a legal/front-office position in 1997. He moved up in the organization and in 2000 was named vice president of football administration.

In 2001, he was hired by the Detroit Lions in a senior-level front-office role; then, in 2003, he returned to the law profession and helped Zygi Wilf and partners to buy the Minnesota Vikings. When the deal was done, he became the team’s executive price president of legal affairs and chief administrative officer, later promoted to chief operating officer.

Part of his experience with the Vikings that could appeal to the Bears was his participation in the planning of U.S. Bank Stadium, which opened on July 22, 2016. The Bears could decide to leave old Soldier Field in Chicago and build a stadium on 326 acres in suburban Arlington Heights.

–Field Level Media

Tennessee Titans quarterback Joshua Dobbs will make his first career NFL start in Thursday’s game against the visiting Dallas Cowboys, multiple media outlets reported.

Dobbs reportedly is getting the nod over rookie Malik Willis for Tennessee, which is without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was placed on injured reserve on Thursday due to an ankle injury.

The Titans also placed outside linebacker Bud Dupree (pectoral) and inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (elbow) on injured reserve.

As for the Cowboys (11-4), NFL Network reported running back Tony Pollard is expected to be inactive for Thursday’s contest. Pollard has been unable to participate in practice all week due to a thigh injury.

The Titans (7-8) can improve their record but risk injury while gaining no ground in playoff positioning until the Jan. 8 winner-take-all AFC South showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Even if the Jaguars beat the Houston Texans on Sunday to improve to 8-8, and should Tennessee lose Thursday, the division title would still be on the line when the teams meet head-to-head.

Dobbs, 27, was signed by the Titans off the Detroit Lions’ practice squad on Dec. 21. He began the season with the Cleveland Browns, who parted ways with him after Deshaun Watson joined the roster following his 11-game suspension.

He appeared in six games with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2018 and 2020 seasons, completing 10 of 17 passes for 45 yards with one interception.

Dobbs returns to the state where he played in college at Tennessee from 2013-16 and threw for more than 7,000 yards.

Willis, 23, completed just 14 of 23 passes for 99 yards and two interceptions in Tennessee’s 19-14 loss to the Houston Texans last Saturday. He is completing just 50.8 percent of his passes for 276 yards with three picks in eight games this season.

Tannehill is missing his second straight game and fourth of the season due to two ankle injuries.

Pollard, 25, sits 12 rushing yards shy of 1,000 for the season. Teammate Ezekiel Elliott has 829 yards and 11 touchdowns, including scores in eight consecutive games.

Pollard has a team-leading 12 total touchdowns (nine rushing, three receiving). The 2022 Pro Bowl selection was limited to nine carries for 19 yards last week, when the Cowboys rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, and McCarthy said Malik Davis would see more reps in this week’s prep sessions.

Davis has 23 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown in 10 games this season.

Dallas is the top wild-card team in the NFC and maintains the slimmest hope of catching Philadelphia in the East division.

The Cowboys can win the NFC East if the Eagles lose their final two games and Dallas beats the Titans and Washington Commanders. Philadelphia (13-2) locks up the division and home-field advantage throughout conference playoffs with a victory Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (6-9).

Tennessee promoted outside linebacker Sam Okuayinonu, inside linebacker Andre Smith and running back Jonathan Ward from the practice squad to the active roster on Thursday.

–Field Level Media