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Danny Woodhead ruled out for season

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The Chargers are down to two healthy running backs.

A third will be added soon.

San Diego is placing running back Danny Woodhead on injured reserve, coach Mike McCoy announced Monday. Woodhead suffered a broken right fibula Sunday against the Bills as well as a high ankle sprain. The team plans to fill his roster spot Tuesday.

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There is some urgency to the situation.

Practice-squad running back Marion Grice signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals on Monday, sources said. There is no other in-house candidate, so the expected addition will be someone from outside the organization.

He must receive a crash course of the offense and be active Sunday against the Jaguars.

“We’ll make that decision within the next 24 hours obviously since we don’t practice until Wednesday,” coach Mike McCoy said Monday, “but without a doubt, the sooner somebody is here, (the better). ... We’ll prepare that player to get him ready to go with the situation we have with our two guys right now. We’re going to have a third back somehow. We’ll make that decision here shortly.”

McCoy was a few minutes late to his 1:30 p.m. press conference.

He had good reason: He and General Manager Tom Telesco were deciding how to proceed at the running back position, he said.

Veteran Donald Brown and rookie Branden Oliver are the only healthy backs on the 53-man roster. In an eight-day span, Ryan Mathews and Woodhead were both carted off the field. Mathews suffered a right MCL sprain in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks. Woodhead’s right leg and ankle gruesomely contorted when tackled on his first carry Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Grice very well may have been the choice to take Woodhead’s roster spot.

Instead, the rookie sixth-round draft pick was in Arizona on Monday, taking a physical.

The Cardinals made an aggressive play for the Arizona State product, who had a say in whether to join an outside team’s 53-man roster or remain with his current club. Grice chose Arizona. He fills the need for depth in the wake of Jonathan Dwyer’s domestic violence situation, preferring the opportunity there than in San Diego.

The Cardinals were aware of Woodhead’s injury.

Targeting Grice, they jumped to sign him.

His best game this preseason coincidentally came against them. On Aug. 28, he had 17 carries for 79 yards in the fourth exhibition at Qualcomm Stadium. Ultimately, the Chargers kept Oliver on the roster over Grice.

One positive in the short term is Mathews is only weeks from a return.

In the longer term, Woodhead’s injury is not considered career-threatening, a source familiar with the situation said Monday. He is expected to undergo surgery and make a full recovery.

Along with Woodhead and Mathews, center Nick Hardwick (neck), outside linebacker Melvin Ingram (hip) and inside linebacker Manti Te’o (foot) also are key players to be lost for a significant period due to injury in the first three games.

Cornerback Brandon Flowers called Woodhead “a key player to our offense.”

“He’s a threat coming out of the backfield. He’s a leader on the field,” Flowers added. “It’s hard to replace a guy like that. ... But the next guy, Branden Oliver, will have to step up. He’s very capable; that’s why he’s on this team.

“I think the front office did a great job of creating depth on our football team. We’ve had a couple key guys go down, and guys have been able to step up so far. We’ve just to keep answering the bell, and hopefully, this bad luck of injuries stops.”

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