SAN DIEGO -- Although he watched from the sideline during his team's Week 2 preseason win against the Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said that quarterback Philip Rivers will play in this Saturday's contest against the Seattle Seahawks.
Traditionally considered a dress rehearsal for the regular season, it's expected all of San Diego's frontline players who sat out last week -- including Rivers, running back Melvin Gordon and cornerback Jason Verrett -- will play against Seattle.
McCoy said that he made the call to sit Rivers against the Cardinals, something he began planning for during the offseason.
Rivers played nine snaps in the second preseason game against the Seahawks last season, but McCoy decided to use a different approach this year.
"Philip and I talked this offseason about how we're going to work his reps through training camp, through the offseason program and through preseason games," McCoy said. "And this is what we talked about doing."
And was Rivers OK with it?
"Philip always wants to play," McCoy said. "He's a competitor. He understands why I made that decision, and why we talked about what we did.
"We got back to camp and I reminded him that this is the plan, and we're going to stick to it. And there's other reasons for it, so he was fine with it."
Although he played a full, 16-game season, Rivers dealt with a bulging disk in his back and a rib injury in 2014. McCoy's could be limiting his veteran quarterback's reps in exhibition play so Rivers is fresh for the regular season.
Ingram pays respect to Freeney with spin move: Chargers outside linebacker Melvin Ingram said he paid homage to former teammate Dwight Freeney when he used a spin move on Arizona right tackle Bradley Sowell to sack quarterback Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer, one of two sacks on Saturday for the South Carolina product.
"Dwight is a big reason for the spin move," Ingram said.
Ingram also credited pass-rush specialist Chuck Smith for helping him develop the move.
"(But) Dwight really showed me how to do it, though," Ingram said.
Ingram said some of the advice Freeney offered in perfecting the move included making sure to get off the ball quickly, see how the offensive tackle is setting up for pass protection and finishing the spin.
"I'm pretty sure everybody in this room has seen his (Freeney's) spin (move), so anything he says about it you're going to take heed and listen," Ingram said about Freeney.
So does Ingram have a better spin move than Freeney?
"No," Ingram quickly said, smiling.
Injury update: McCoy said the only player worth noting injury-wise from the Arizona game was receiver Dontrelle Inman, who suffered a concussion and is going through the NFL protocol for concussions this week. Other than that, McCoy said players suffered the usual bumps and bruises of a game. Along with Rivers, Gordon and Verrett, linebacker Denzel Perryman, receiver Torrence Allen, center Trevor Robinson, cornerback Chris Davis, defensive tackle Corey Liuget, outside linebacker Tourek Williams, guard Johnnie Troutman and cornerback Greg Ducre did not play against Arizona.
