NFL teams
Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Jason Verrett out vs. Miami

NFL, San Diego Chargers

SAN DIEGO -- Chargers rookie cornerback Jason Verrett has a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will miss at least Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins, the team said.

Verrett's injury, originally diagnosed by team doctors, was confirmed by a specialist this week.

He suffered the injury in the second half against Oakland on Oct. 12. He left the game but later returned, sealing the win with an interception on Oakland's final offensive play.

Verrett did not play the following week against Kansas City, but surprisingly suited up last Thursday against Denver. He saw action for 20 plays before re-injuring the shoulder, finishing the game from the sideline with his left arm in a sling.

Both Verrett and coach Mike McCoy said it wasn't a mistake for Verrett to play in Thursday night's 35-21 loss at Denver. Verrett left in the second quarter and stood on the sideline in the second half with his left arm in a sling.

"No, not at all,'' Verrett said. "My goal is to always be ready every week. I tested it out pregame. I felt great. I just was trying to go out there because we were kind of short at corner. I just wanted to help my team.''

Said McCoy: "We're not going to put anyone out there if we don't think they're ready to play. That's regardless of what the injury is, what body part. They spend a lot of hours in the training room to get better and get healthy and a number of players would play with certain things. Some play with his injury, some other players have played with it in the past, also. He's not the first guy to do this.

"It's an injury that we've been dealing with for a couple of weeks. He gave it everything he had in the Denver game until it got to a point where he couldn't play any longer."

Verrett already had offseason surgery in March to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and his reps were monitored during training camp.

When healthy, Verrett, a first-round pick out of TCU, has been an impact player this season with 19 tackles, an interception and four pass breakups.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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