Khalil Mack unspooled his elbow wrap and removed his brace as he spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since sustaining his injury last month. Does Mack, the Chargers’ star outside linebacker, believe he can play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts?
“For sure,” he said.
That will ultimately be up to general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh, Mack said. The 34-year-old, in his fourth season with the Chargers, said he’s “slightly ready to go” if his number is called upon, just days after his 21-day activation window opened Tuesday.
Mack was listed as questionable Friday, along with wide receiver Derius Davis, linebacker Troy Dye, offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer and linebacker Denzel Perryman. Running back Hassan Haskins also was listed as questionable after practicing all week.
Offensive tackle Joe Alt (ankle) was listed as doubtful for Sunday. Alt practiced Thursday and Friday.
“I’m not going to say I can or can’t,” Alt said Wednesday when asked whether he’d play. “We’re just going to continue to progress and see where it means for me going forward.”
Defensive back Elijah Molden (thumb) did not practice all week and was also listed as doubtful. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston (hamstring) is set to play after missing last week’s win over the Miami Dolphins.
When Khalil Mack suffered a left elbow injury after colliding with a teammate while tackling the Raiders’ Geno Smith, the concern wasn’t whether he’d miss time, but how much.
Fortunately for the Chargers, the diagnosis was a dislocated elbow, sidelining him four weeks on injured reserve — far better than the season-ending outcome many had feared.
“He’s like Wolverine,” coach Jim Harbaugh said, invoking the regenerating “X-Men” character. “One of the toughest things I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t going to sit or lay down on the field. … A new level of respect.”
Mack has been remarkably durable in his Chargers tenure, starting 52 of 53 games.
Last season, however, he played through a groin injury, never at full strength. The timing of this setback is especially frustrating, given that the team had held him out of the preseason to preserve him for the regular season.
Losing Mack is a significant blow heading into the team’s third AFC West matchup in three weeks. His impact was evident before leaving Monday’s game, when he disrupted the Raiders’ offense early, including a key third-down sack.
While Mack’s absence is challenging, the defense appears to be in steady hands. It has already proved it can uphold last year’s standard when it finished as the league’s No. 1 scoring defense unit by limiting opponents to 15 points per game through two weeks.
The edge rusher group will take on elevated roles in Mack’s absence.
Tuli Tuipulotu, viewed by the organization as a future star, will anchor the unit alongside veteran Bud Dupree.
Caleb Murphy, primarily a special teamer, logged a career-high 34 snaps against the Raiders and is expected to have a more defined role. Rookie fourth-round pick Kyle Kennard, still on the practice squad, is also in line for a promotion to give the team a fourth option.
Harbaugh didn’t rule out the front office seeking outside help via trade or free agency, saying, “We’ll look. We’re always looking, and see what the coming days bring.”
Emmerdale spoilers for next week tease the moment John Sugden is exposed as the police search for Mack Boyd, and injured Aaron wakes up and drops a bombshell on his family
16:04, 14 Sep 2025Updated 16:07, 14 Sep 2025
It’s another huge week ahead on Emmerdale with spoilers teasing the moment John Sugden is rumbled(Image: ITV)
It’s another huge week ahead on Emmerdale with spoilers teasing the moment John Sugden is rumbled.
Aaron Dingle’s fate has been confirmed it seems, after his horror clifftop plunge last week. He was dragged into a gorge by sick husband John, who was taking revenge over Aaron’s fling with his ex Robert Sugden.
John had just been caught out by Aaron who knew he’d done something to missing Mack Boyd, and he wanted answers. John confessed crimes including kidnapping Mack, killing Nate Robinson and drugging Chas Dingle.
Before Aaron could tell anyone though Robert raced to the scene, and a showdown ended with John framing Robert before dragging Aaron off a cliff. Robert is currently in a cell, charged over the attempted murders of Aaron and John, with John lying about what really happened.
Aaron remains in a coma, but that all changes next week according to new spoilers. In what’s no doubt set to be a massive week for the show, some key events happen.
Aaron Dingle’s fate has been confirmed it seems(Image: ITV)
Mackenzie is still left trapped in the underground bunker, chained up by killer John. Having been shot with an arrow, hit over the head, having his ankle broken with a rock and then a scary showdown weeks ago, Mack is a shadow of his former self.
John cruelly left Mack to die last week, giving him a syringe filled with a drug meant to kill him. He told Mack he was never going to be back, and told him when the time came that he couldn’t take anymore he could use the needle to be without pain.
The sick twist saw Mack faced with death once more, and spoilers recently revealed a scene next week sees him inject himself. Mack hallucinates his wife Charity Dingle, but just as some news could save him – will they be too late after Mack uses the syringe?
Aaron wakes up next week, confirming he’s alive. Chas Dingle is there for her son, with Charity and Moira Dingle also there with the police.
It seems Charity fears something is up with Mack, finally, given the spoiler says she is “desperate for answers” and she presses Aaron with questions. It also seems that they know about John or that something is up.
Mackenzie is still left trapped in the underground bunker(Image: ITV)
With Aaron awake, does he manage to tell them what John did? Does he even remember? What’s interesting is that Cain Dingle arrives to see his nephew, and admits he’s dropped John off at the cottage.
On hearing this, the detective rushes out – so why are they after John, or at least keen to talk to him? Does this prove he is finally exposed?
Aaron makes a comment about a bunker at the cottage, the one Mack is in, while it’s not stated whether he says anything about Mack. It’s enough to spring Charity into action though, as the spoiler states she isn’t far behind the detective so do they know the truth, and will Mack be found alive?
Emmerdale has a massive week of episodes lined up next week as revealed in new spoilers, with a possible death, a double exit teased and hints of a reunion for Robron
Emmerdale has a massive week of episodes lined up next week as revealed in new spoilers(Image: ITV)
It’s a big week next week Emmerdale fans, with spoilers teasing some huge twists and turns you do not want to miss. There’s a Robron update that will no doubt send fans of Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden into meltdown.
There’s a double exit hint too, as well as possible murder given the recent rumours about a certain Mackenzie Boyd. One married couple look set to be torn apart, before fate may decide on things for them.
It’s a big week next week Emmerdale fans, with spoilers teasing some huge twists and turns(Image: ITV)
There’s also concern for Moira Dingle and Vinny Dingle faces turmoil. Let’s kick off with one of the biggest twists of the week ahead, and something some fans have been manifesting for months.
Robron could well reunite as an affair is teased for exes Aaron and Robert. Amid Aaron’s marriage to Robert’s villainous brother John, the pair give into temptation once more weeks on from their kiss.
Robert is in utter turmoil, struggling to cope with recent events. As things escalate further and his mental health spirals, he’s truly in a dark place – not helped by twisted John.
John is still intent on getting rid of his brother, and next week he cruelly manages to drive a wedge between Robert and their sister Victoria over her young son Harry. Tearing apart their bond, John leaves Robert more alone than ever at a time where he needs all the support he can get.
Luckily for him Aaron comes to the rescue, walking into the house to check on him only to find him trashing his room and he quickly intervenes. As for Victoria, she’s been manipulated over the events with Harry the days before now, with John exaggerating what happened and it truly turns her against her brother.
There’s a Robron update that will no doubt send fans of Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden into meltdown(Image: ITV)
Robert’s in total despair by the time Aaron arrives, with John having made Robert very aware he’s now lost both his sister and his ex. It seems Aaron thinks otherwise though as he sits Robert down and gets him to open up.
Aaron is in shock to see just how broken Robert is having never seen him like this before, and he does his best to support him as Robert claims he’s lost everything. It’s then that Aaron can’t hold it in anymore and he blurts out his true, unresolved feelings, admitting this is why he’s been distancing himself and pushing Robert away.
One thing leads to another though as they give into passion and end up in bed together. But it’s teased John and Victoria could walk in on the pair as they head back to the house to check in on Robert – so what will they find?
Later in the week there’s heartbreak when guilty Aaron tells him it was a one-off and a mistake. Robert thinks wrongly though, believing he and Aaron are about to reunite and that he’s been picked over John – only to find out Aaron feels otherwise. Robert insists they are destined to be together, but this only heightens Aaron’s turmoil.
And this is where the plot intertwines with John’s killer storyline, with Nate Robinson’s murder case reopened. By the end of the week there could be another victim, but more on that later on. For now, John is rattled after hearing there’s been a development.
There’s a double exit hint too(Image: ITV)
So when Aaron, equally rattled, suggests they move away for a fresh start it seems a double exit could loom. Aaron needs to get away from Robert, and John wants away from the village as his guilt over Nate threatens to tear him apart.
It’s an inconsistency in Owen’s suicide note, the note John made to frame Owen for the murder, that leads to the police investigation being reopened. John is all over the place but decides to jump on the exit plan with Aaron, leaving the latter’s mum Chas Dingle devastated to hear they might be moving away.
John takes some holiday leave and they make plans to take some time away – but when John makes a chilling phone call what is it about? As the police look into the new evidence, the fresh questions about the murder leave Nate’s loved ones in turmoil all over again.
Suddenly the man who came to collect Nate’s belongings from his house months ago as part of an ordered removal service shows up, and when Tracy shows him a photo of her murdered husband he admits he’s never seen him before, confirming it wasn’t Nate. But there’s a twist when he identifies the man who contacted him as being Owen.
This leaves Nate’s loved ones sure Owen is the killer, and Robert starts to believe he may have been wrong after suspecting John was the true murderer. But the plot is turned on its head when Mackenzie finds a clue about a mystery something, linked to John, so what has he found?
It comes amid reports Mack will be killed off(Image: ITV)
Given reports state Mack exposes John and ends up being killed as a result, this could well be the end of the character this coming week. It comes as he falls out big time with wife Charity Dingle amid her offering to be a surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah Sugden.
With a pregnancy confirmed, things turn sour when Charity becomes distant and distracted. Mack is drowning his sorrows in the pub and after being taunted by Ross Barton, he admits it’s been three years since he and Charity sadly lost their baby and he claims she hasn’t remembered.
The pair end up rowing, and he blurts out his issues about the surrogacy. Charity ends up kicking her husband out so is it over for the pair? Mack is also upset after Aaron confesses to him what’s happened with Robert, but could he end up letting slip to John?
Mack’s sister Moira Dingle is in for more heartbreak next week too, when the deal she and new farmer Celia have been working on has fallen through. But is Joe Tate to blame after he vows to sabotage once more?
Moira fears this is the end of her farming days, and soon Celia urges her to sell up – so is Celia up to no good? Villain Ray manipulates teen Dylan Penders next week, after dragging April Windsor into his dodgy deals.
With a job search not working out, he’s left tempted to work for Ray once more but he lies about it to April. Elsewhere, Kammy Hadiq and Belle Dingle agree to another lunch date.
Finally next week, Gabby Thomas urges Vinny Dingle to report Kammy to the police – but what has happened? Vinny’s tormented by his guilt, clearly hiding something about newcomer Mike – and soon the police come knocking wanting to know more about a man named Graham… so what will he say?
Facing unrestricted free agency for the first time in his illustrious career, Khalil Mack could have chosen any team to chase his championship ambitions. Why did the star edge rusher choose to stick with a franchise that has never won the Super Bowl?
“Why not here?” the Chargers edge rusher wondered back.
Praising the leadership under coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz, the players on the roster and his familiarity with the franchise, Mack’s decision to return to the Chargers wasn’t that complicated at all.
“It was a no-brainer,” he said this week during Chargers minicamp in his first comments with local reporters since January.
In his last public comments, Mack was swirling in the disappointment of the Chargers’ wild-card loss to the Houston Texans. The 34-year-old flirted with retirement. For a former two-star recruit who went to Buffalo, Mack has little else to prove at the professional level. Nine Pro Bowl selections. Three All-Pro honors. The 2016 Associated Press defensive player of the year.
But still no playoff wins.
“You’re chasing that feeling of wanting to win important games deep in the season,” said Mack, who has gone one-and-done in the postseason five times. “Being that I haven’t reached that point yet, I couldn’t give up on that dream and that goal for myself and for this franchise.”
Mired in their own postseason drought, the Chargers have not won a playoff game since the 2018 season. Their last two attempts flamed out spectacularly. The 27-point blown lead in Jan. 2023 was the largest in franchise history. Last year, quarterback Justin Herbert threw a career-high four interceptions against Houston.
Despite the jarring end, the Chargers’ surprising 11-6 regular-season record in the first year under Harbaugh positions the franchise well for the long-awaited breakthrough. Wanting to continue the momentum was a key hope for the offseason.
“l was begging and pleading with him to come back,” safety Derwin James Jr. said. “I just knew for him to come back like that, he really loves us and he really wants a shot at it again.”
Mack, who signed a reported one-year, $18 million deal, had six sacks and 39 tackles last season, a stark drop from his resurgent 2023 that featured a career-high 17 sacks and 75 tackles. Nursing a complicated groin injury, he missed a game for the first time in his Chargers tenure.
But entering his 12th season, Mack insists getting in top physical shape is the easy part. On Thursday, Harbaugh was shocked when reminded that Mack was 34 years old. Mack was working with Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert for weeks before the team started their offseason regimen, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.
The workouts suddenly got so popular that one random weekday, Minter was stunned to see so many players that they could have held a defensive walk-through. Echoing Harbaugh, Minter called it the “Herb Effect.” It has Mack under its spell.
“Herb is a big deal,” Mack said. “He was a big part of that decision coming back here as well. Just knowing the mindset that he has and how he thinks about the body. It’s just the same approach and the same mindset that I have when I train by myself or with anybody else. I want to be a machine. I want to be as solid as possible, as strong as possible. Move people easy. And this program is all of that.”
For the first time in his Chargers tenure, Mack is without running mate Joey Bosa, who was cut in a salary-saving move. After three injury-riddled seasons punctuated his nine-year Chargers career, Bosa signed with the Buffalo Bills.
It’s weird without his former teammate, Mack said. He recently texted Bosa about how different the edge rusher room felt without Bosa breaking the silence with awkward jokes. They will at least reunite at Bosa’s wedding next year.
Bosa’s departure opens the door for third-year edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu to step into a starring role. The USC alumnus started 20 games in the last two seasons as Bosa struggled with injuries and had a career-best 8 1/2 sacks last season.
“Tuli is a special player, man,” Mack said. “I’ve been saying that ever since he stepped foot into the building, what, three years ago now. … It’s not going to be no surprise to me when he’s a 10, 12 sack guy this year.”
The Chargers drafted SEC defensive player of the year Kyle Kennard in the fourth round to bolster the edge room that also includes 32-year-old Bud Dupree.
Mack’s return was one of the first offseason moves the Chargers announced, and while he could have waited longer to entertain options from other teams as an unrestricted free agent, he chose not to linger on the market. Balancing financial decisions with his career and family, Mack kept a single focus.
“It’s just not wanting to give up on that goal and that ambition that I had ever since I had stepped in the league,” Mack said. “I knew I wanted to play in important games and win a Super Bowl at least.”
Rashawn Slater not focused on contract extension talks
After missing organized team activities while waiting for a contract extension, star left tackle Rashawn Slater returned to mandatory minicamp this week with no concerns about the status of his deal approaching the season.
“Realistically speaking, I’ve known for a long time it’s how these things go,” Slater said Thursday on the final day of minicamp of getting an extension done before the season. “It’s not something that’s bothered me. It’s just the business of football, so I have full confidence.”
In 2025, Slater would play on a fifth-year option due to pay him about $19 million. The left tackle coming off his second Pro Bowl selection was rated the second-best tackle last year, according to Pro Football Focus.
Many teammates were at the Chargers practice facility during organized team activities, but Slater continued his routine in Texas, where he works with Duke Manyweather, the top private offensive line coach among the NFL’s best. Despite not working with the Chargers strength staff, Slater was more than prepared upon his return. The offensive lineman passed the conditioning test, and Harbaugh said Slater reported it was “too easy.”
But Slater wanted to correct the record.
“I didn’t say ‘too easy,’” he said Thursday. “I just said it was ‘easy.’ I’m not trying to rub it in anybody’s face.”
ITV’s quiz show, The 1% Club, which is hosted by Lee Mack, pits contestants against each other to try and win £100,000 by answering questions only 1% of the UK get right
ITV’s game show The 1% Club has become a huge hit since it first hit our screens in 2022(Image: ITV)
ITV’s game show The 1% Club has become a huge success since it first hit our screens in 2022. Hosted by Not Going Out star, Lee Mack, the primetime programme features IQ-style questions based on logic and common sense, as opposed to general knowledge. A total of 100 contestants are slowly whittled down as they attempt to make it to the end and successfully answer a question in 30 seconds, that only 1% of the population can get right in a bid to bag £100,000.
However, what viewers don’t know about the show is that some of the scenes are actually fake – according to a former contestant, who has lifted the lid on the smash-hit series, which she filmed in October last year. Spilling the beans on the programme, Heidi Phillips, 49, said she bagged a place on the show after seeing an advert on Facebook and then having a mock 1%-style quiz on Zoom.
ITV’s quiz show, The 1% Club, which is hosted by Lee Mack, pits contestants against each other to try and win £100,000(Image: ITV)
Revealing what really goes on behind the scenes of the series, which is one of ITV’s most popular offerings, she claimed some of the scenes were fake, revealing that Lee’s jokes are not filmed at the same time as the contestants are answering the questions.
Heidi explained, while talking to Fruity Slots: “While contestants are answering questions on the tablet, Lee usually takes the time to make a joke to the audience at home. But all his comical parts are filmed later.
“When we’re answering the question, he remains silent. Then he has to be filmed asking the question again and we have to pretend to put our answers in. That was a bit weird!”
Heidi also said the contestants had to abide by a very strict rule on the show, which, if flouted would mean they would be forced to hand back any prize money – immediately.
The contestant, who bowed out of the programme at the 35% question, said: “When we got put in our seats in the studio, they gave us the tablets and told us it was important to keep our eyes firmly locked on the screens and not look at each other.
“There were actually invigilators who go back through the show episode to make sure every contestant plays the game fairly.
“You could have won the cash prize but if they go back through filming and see you glanced over at another contestant’s screen before answering, you’ll forfeit the prize.”
Heidi added: “That’s not happened yet – but it was a stern warning!”
Despite the strict warning from producers, Heidi said host, Lee, is very charming and “naturally funny”, sharing: “He’s honestly really funny. Very naturally funny. He also has banter with the warm-up comedian and creates a nice atmosphere.”
She also said she’d jump at the chance to go back on the show again and praised the programme’s staff for “going back over the funny anecdotes I’d shared with them and make sure I’d be happy to discuss it on the show if Lee (Mack) wanted to”.
Heidi, who also said contestants had to make sure they were dressed appropriately for the show, wearing “nothing low cut”, added: “They seemed really concerned about our welfare and us being happy to share things on TV. They really took the time to check in with us.”
And her advice for anyone wanting to go on the show, who has made it to the audition round? “When they ask you how you’ll spend the winnings, don’t say something boring like paying off the mortgage. Give a really wild question,” said Heidi, adding: “I made silly jokes that if I won the prize, I’d spend it on opening a trifle sandwich shop.”
