The Los Angeles Chargers have a significant difficulty to repair proper now.
Shedding Rashawn Slater for the season might be a lethal blow.
Not less than, that’s how NFL analyst Jeffri Chadiha feels.
In his newest column, he identified his issues for the Chargers’ offensive line:
“The Chargers should modify to life with out Rashawn Slater. There hasn’t been a extra devastating damage for the reason that begin of coaching camp than the patellar tendon tear that ended Slater’s season earlier than it began. The Professional Bowl left sort out had acquired a four-year, $114 million extension simply 11 days earlier than his left leg collapsed in observe. The Chargers have been getting ready to discipline among the finest offensive traces in soccer with Slater working as a bookend to proper sort out Joe Alt,” Chadiha wrote.
Younger stud Joe Alt will probably transfer to the left facet of the offensive line to exchange Slater, with Trey Pipkins additionally being an element.
This can be a lethal blow, because the Chargers had already gone to nice lengths to make Slater the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL historical past.
Alt was the No. 5 choose within the 2024 NFL Draft and appeared like a celebrity within the making as a rookie, however shifting from one facet of the road to the opposite isn’t as straightforward because it sounds.
This crew struggled with go safety earlier than final season, and whereas Justin Herbert is quick and athletic, there’s solely a lot he can do if he’s consistently operating right into a collapsed pocket.
Additionally, Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman normally deploy a run-heavy strategy, and it is advisable to win the battle within the trenches to have the ability to set up after which run in the way in which they normally do.
It’s nonetheless early, and so they might nonetheless search for an answer within the commerce market or wait till the beginning of the season and the commerce deadline.
Then once more, there are greater than sufficient causes to be frightened concerning the potential ripple impact this damage might have for this crew.
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