San Diego Chargers Long Snapper David Binn To Be Placed on Injured Reserve

After a first week of football where the injury bug bit some of the teams in the NFL, it didn't wait long to finally make its way to the San Diego Chargers.

According to the San Diego Chargers website and the San Diego Union-Tribune, Chargers long snapper David Binn has been placed on injured reserve with what is being called a severe hamstring injury.

Binn was injured during Dexter McCluster's punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Surprisingly, he finished the rest of the game and continued to make plays while the injury could only be described as an almost total tear of the muscle off the bone.

On Monday night, Binn set a Chargers franchise record for consecutive games played at 179 games. He has played in 256 games since becoming a Charger and was starting his 17th season with the team—both of those are franchise records as well.

Binn remains the only active player still with the Chargers since the teams' 1994 AFC Championship win and Super Bowl XXIV loss, his rookie season. He has played in all 12 of the Chargers postseason appearances since 1994.

To compensate for the loss, the Chargers have signed ex-New York Jets long snapper James Dearth. Dearth spent nine seasons with the Jets before being released in the off-season. Dearth went on to sign with the Washington Redskins but was released by them on Aug. 31.

Dearth, may not have the 17 seasons of NFL experience David Binn does, but he has played in every game with the New York Jets from 2001-09. Dearth was also on the field during the Chargers loss to the Jets in the playoffs last January.