Have we seen the last of Malcom Floyd?
The 34-year-old Chargers wideout was very clear in saying that 2015 would be his last season during training camp and on Monday night against the Bears, he left with what looked like a very serious shoulder injury. The San Diego Union-Times reported Tuesday that Floyd suffered a torn labrum, though there is no word whether it will bring his season to a premature end.
Floyd was laying out for a deep ball in the second quarter.
If he is indeed finished, his career deserves to be placed in the proper perspective. As an undrafted free agent, the rangy 6-5 wide receiver quickly developed a rapport with Philip Rivers and became one of the quarterback's favorite deep ball targets.
His situational role expanded to something far greater as Floyd approached 30. His yards per catch were almost near 20 and at his height, he was hauling in almost 60 catches per season and nearly 900 receiving yards. Like many of Rivers' targets, Floyd appeared to improve with age, having one of his career seasons at 33 back in 2014. He played in all 16 games.
Should the shoulder injury keep him from catching another pass in the NFL, he'll go down as one of the game's 50 active leaders in touchdowns and receiving yards. More than that, he'll be remembered as the kind of pass catcher no cornerback wanted 1-on-1 near the red zone.
At this point, already down Keenan Allen, the Chargers are going to be hard-pressed to find some weapons down the stretch. Floyd, along with Antonio Gates, provided a picture of stability for Rivers. Now, it looks like it's time for Rivers to develop some new targets.