The Los Angeles Chargers have made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, but they found themselves losing in the first round in consecutive years to the Houston Texans and New England Patriots.
The Chargers are hoping for different fortunes in the 2026 season, but it will likely come down to the health of their offensive line, which struggled last season.
“Los Angeles’ offensive line should be a strength of the team in 2026 after disaster struck last season. Left tackle Rashawn Slater suffered
a season-ending patellar tendon tear in August, while right tackle Joe Alt played just six games before requiring season-ending ankle surgery,” NFL.com contributor Bobby Kownack wrote.
“Herbert took a career-high 54 sacks behind a patchwork offensive line, leading the league with 268 pressures taken and a 43.3 pressure rate. Slater and Alt are back, but they’ll also be joined on the line by free-agent signings Tyler Biadasz and Cole Strange, as well as second-round rookie Jake Slaughter. Assuming the group stays healthy, Herbert should be well protected. First, though, the Bolts blockers have to jell together as a unit in August.”
The Chargers are healthy in that area for the most part, which is all they can ask for at this point in the year. Slater did leave practice last week with a brief injury, but he was able to get some work in later in the day. The team wants to be extremely careful with him coming back from such a major injury, especially considering he signed a $114 million contract last offseason.
If the Chargers proceed with caution, they have a better chance of having Slater healthy for the long haul, which is what’s going to be needed in order for the Chargers to truly take that next step forward.
BFTB community, how do you feel about the offensive line going into the season? How concerned are you if the offensive line struggles with injuries like they did last year? Let us know in the comment section below.
