Bitten by injuries in many recent seasons, the Chargers have run into tremendous trouble along their offensive line in this one. Playing the full season without left tackle Rashawn Slater, the Bolts will now be without his replacement the rest of the way.
Being carted off with an ankle injury Sunday, Joe Alt is not returning this year. The Chargers announced the standout blocker is set to undergo season-ending surgery on his right high ankle sprain — an injury that has given him trouble at multiple points during his second NFL campaign.
The Chargers quickly slid Alt to left tackle to replace Slater for this season. They had lost Slater to a torn patellar tendon during training camp, seeing that development unfold days after reaching an extension agreement. The Bolts had a prime option to fill in, as Alt had earned two All-American honors while playing left tackle at Notre Dame. But Alt’s season on Justin Herbert‘s blind side has been bumpy due to this injury.
Alt first went down in Week 4 and missed the next three games. He returned in Week 8, and the Bolts dominated the Vikings. The team eked out a win over the woeful Titans on Sunday, and its tackle situation now looks dire.
When Alt was healthy, backup tackle Trey Pipkins filled in at right tackle. When Alt went down in September, backup tackle Austin Deculus was called up to the first-team offense. Pipkins went down in Week 5, and Jamaree Salyer finished the game at right tackle, but a practice squad addition, Bobby Hart, ended up making the subsequent start opposite Deculus. When Pipkins returned from his injury, however, Hart remained in the starting lineup across from Alt in his return last week.
Hart actually left today’s game with an injury before Alt, getting replaced by Pipkins early in the contest. Deculus — a late-summer trade pickup — had already been ruled out with an ankle injury before the game. The Chargers called upon Salyer, this time to play left tackle across from Pipkins. This came as right guard Mekhi Becton missed another game. Because of the timing here, the Bolts may have a decision to make. Pro Football Focus ranks Alt 11th among tackles; Hart, Pipkins and Deculus are all outside the top 60.
Los Angeles has managed to reach 6-3 despite myriad O-line issues, but Alt’s return had been a silver lining previously. The prospect of playing without their best two blockers changes the equation, and the Bolts have until 3pm CT Tuesday to make a trade. Although Salyer and Pipkins have extensive starting experience, with both players seeing extended stretches at tackle and guard, they entered the season as backups for a reason. Will the Chargers try to trade for an Alt replacement by the deadline?
It took only a swap of conditional sixth-round picks for the Vikings to add Cam Robinson following Christian Darrisaw‘s injury last year, providing some optimism the Chargers could complete a deal without giving up too much. Robinson now resides in Cleveland, following a trade with Houston; Cornelius Lucas (34) is his backup. Chukwuma Okorafor, who left the Patriots one week into last season, resides as a Jets swing tackle. Injury-prone Trent Brown is stationed behind the Texans’ starting tackles.
One interesting solution could reside in Washington, where Andrew Wylie is available. The Commanders’ right tackle starter in 2023 and ’24, Wylie previously played right tackle for the Chiefs. He does not have nearly as much LT experience, however. But the Bolts have been rearranging their O-line since Slater’s injury. It will take more of that moving forward, as the Slater-Alt duo will not be back together until next season.