COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) Jason Verrett has incurred another serious injury before training camp even begins for the Los Angeles Chargers.
The former Pro Bowl cornerback tore his Achilles tendon Friday morning during a conditioning test, one day before the first practice of camp. The Chargers will do more tests to determine the severity of the injury, but it's another heartbreaking blow to a promising player who has been unable to stay healthy in the NFL.
After making the Pro Bowl during the 2015 season, Verrett missed 12 games in 2016 and 15 games last season due to a persistent knee injury. He returned to full practices during the Chargers' recent offseason workouts, and he was thrilled for the opportunity to get back to the game.
Verrett has been unable to stay healthy since his Pro Bowl season. Three of his four NFL seasons have ended early due to injuries, and he has missed 39 of 64 possible regular-season games in his career since the Chargers drafted him in the first round in 2014.
Verrett had surgery to repair his ACL in 2016. He made it through just one game last season before needing another knee surgery when the pain proved too stiff.
Injuries have dogged the Northern California native since his college career at TCU, where he famously played his final season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. Verrett has remained upbeat and encouraged through much of his injury struggles, and he expressed optimism after participating in full practices last month at minicamp.
''I dealt with so much adversity getting here, and then the fact that I dealt with a lot of injuries, it's kept me up to date,'' Verrett said last month. ''Whenever other people are going through injuries, I feel like I know so much. Tell them, `Hey, work on this,' or `Work on that.' I just feel it's something the man above put on my plate so I'm able to be a gift for somebody else.''
The Chargers begin camp Saturday morning at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, California.
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