EL SEGUNDO — Rashawn Slater was the Chargers’ first option to start at left tackle this season, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury during a training camp drill on Aug. 7. Joe Alt was next in line, but he sustained a season-ending ankle injury during a Nov. 2 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Austin Deculus started four games as a fill-in at left tackle, but the Chargers then acquired Trevor Penning from the New Orleans Saints before the Nov. 4 trade deadline and he made a less-than-stellar debut during their humbling, 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 16.
Who’s next?
Jamaree Salyer might start at left tackle when the Chargers host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. He assumed the all-important position during individual drills Tuesday and Wednesday as the Chargers returned to the practice field after their bye in Week 12.
Salyer made 14 starts at left tackle as a rookie during the 2022 season, taking over the position after Slater was limited to only three games after he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl as a rookie following the 2021 season. Slater returned to the starting position for the ’23 and ’24 seasons.
Last season, Slater was a Pro Bowl selection again and he earned a four-year, $114 million contract extension on July 27.
Salyer played all 17 games last season for the third consecutive season, but made only four starts. This season, he has been listed as a backup to left guard Zion Johnson on the Chargers’ depth chart. Johnson and center Bradley Bozeman have been the only linemen to start all 11 games this season.
Establishing consistency on the O-line, providing quarterback Justin Herbert with improved protection and creating more room to run for backs Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal for the regular season’s final six games figure to be among the Chargers’ top offensive priorities after their bye week.
Herbert has thrown for 2,691 yards this season, ninth most in the NFL, despite having been sacked 35 times, fourth most. Hampton was the Chargers’ top rusher with 314 yards until he hurt his ankle in Week 5 and was overtaken by Vidal with 417 yards. Hampton and Vidal have two touchdowns each.
“It’s definitely a chess game,” Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said of attempts to solidify the offensive line, in general, and protecting Herbert, in particular. “A, we need great performance by the people who are blocking and, B, we need really good timing in the passing game. We need schematic adjustments when appropriate, and then there’s risk management.
“I can tell you that the moment Rashawn Slater went down in August my risk management profile, my (play) chart changed immediately, and it’s changed several times since then. So, you’ve got to do things that are going to help you win the game. You can’t sit back and say, ‘Hey, Justin never got hit and you ran the fullback dive 60 times today and Justin never got hit once.’
“I’m being facetious here, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win the game.”
No question, the Chargers must make do without Slater and Alt for the rest of the season, but on the plus side, Roman said they do have 10 healthy linemen available for the stretch run after everyone had a chance to rest and regroup during the bye week. How it shakes out will be determined this week.
“So, that’s exciting,” Roman said. “You know, throughout the season there’s so much attrition at that position (offensive line) that I feel like we’re settling in here with some depth for the first time in a while. How that starts during this particular game (Sunday), we’ll see. I feel like we’ve got some really good depth there with guys that have played. It’s really like two full lines.”