Rashawn Slater Goes on IR and Joe Alt Is Out: Justin Herbert Faces Denver Behind Rookie Tackles

The winless Los Angeles Chargers will protect Justin Herbert with two rookie tackles on Sunday. The team placed left tackle Rashawn Slater on injured reserve Friday after he underwent ankle surgery, and right tackle Joe Alt (neck) was ruled out for the Week 5 home game against the Denver Broncos. Slater will miss at least four games.

The final injury report did not stop there. Wide receivers Quentin Johnston (chest) and Brenen Thompson (quad) are out, guards Kayode Awosika (fibula) and Trevor Penning (concussion) are out, and safety Derwin James (hamstring) and cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring) will also sit. Ladd McConkey (foot) is questionable, and backup quarterback Trey Lance (groin) is doubtful.

How the Line Fell Apart

Slater and Alt both went down in the Week 4 loss to Seattle. Slater suffered a high ankle sprain, and head coach Jim Harbaugh said early in the week he was the likelier of the two to need IR. Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Slater had surgery on Thursday, and the procedure was reported as one that keeps open a return later this season. Alt missed practice all week and was ruled out Friday.

That leaves rookies Travis Burke and Logan Taylor, who stepped in when the starters were hurt against Seattle, as the expected tackles. With Awosika and Penning also out, ESPN reported the Chargers could field as many as four rookies across the line. Branson Taylor, listed as questionable with a neck injury, is one of the options for the interior.

This is the backdrop for an 0-4 team that has already lost at home to Arizona and Las Vegas and is 0-4 against the spread. Herbert has completed 59.7% of his passes for 816 yards through four games, numbers well below his usual standard, and he now faces a Broncos pass rush with a patchwork front.

The Twist: Denver's Corners Are Out Too

The single biggest offset for the Chargers is on the other side of the ball. Denver ruled out both starting cornerbacks, Patrick Surtain II (ankle) and Riley Moss (ribs), and is expected to turn to Jahdae Barron and Kris Abrams-Draine. The Broncos also placed wide receiver Pat Bryant on injured reserve this week with an ankle injury.

Losing Surtain removes the defender who would normally erase the Chargers' top receiver. In a normal week, that would make Los Angeles pass catchers attractive. This week, the question is whether Herbert will have enough time to take advantage of it.

Fantasy Fallout

Justin Herbert is a fade in one-quarterback leagues. The Denver secondary is weakened, but rookie tackles against an aggressive pass rush is the more important matchup, and his efficiency has already been poor behind a healthy line. In superflex formats he stays in lineups as a volume play, with modest expectations.

Ladd McConkey is the key decision. He was a non-participant in practice this week and several outlets view him as on the wrong side of questionable. If he plays, the Surtain absence gives him a better matchup than usual, but his practice status makes him a risky start in a 4:05 p.m. ET game. Managers should have a pivot ready from the early slate or a late-window alternative.

If McConkey sits, Tre' Harris and tight end Oronde Gadsden are the most likely beneficiaries. With Johnston and Thompson also out, the Chargers' receiver room is thin enough that Harris could see a full-time role. He is a reasonable deep-league flex with McConkey out, and Gadsden is a streaming tight end option in a game where quick, short throws should be a priority.

The backfield is the steadier piece. Omarion Hampton remains atop the team's unofficial depth chart, and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel indicated there is no change planned there. Keaton Mitchell has carved out a real role behind him, which caps Hampton's ceiling, but a run-leaning plan to protect a rookie line could keep both involved. Hampton is a low-end RB2, Mitchell a flex option in deeper leagues.

The Broncos D/ST is a strong start. Few defenses will see a more favorable protection matchup this week.

The Betting Angle

Denver is a 3.5-point road favorite at most major books, with a total of 42.5 and the Broncos around -170 to -185 on the moneyline. Those numbers were largely in place before Friday's final designations, though Alt's absence and Slater's surgery had been trending all week.

For bettors, the market already treats Los Angeles as the weaker side, and the question is how much the line further discounts the offensive line situation versus how much it credits the Chargers for Denver's missing corners. Sack and pressure props on the Broncos pass rush, plus Herbert's passing yardage, are the markets most directly shaped by Friday's news. The total in the low 40s reflects a game where neither offense is expected to run smoothly.

Verdexed's full model call on Broncos at Chargers lives at /nfl/predictions, and the complete Week 5 board is at /blog/nfl-week-5-picks-2026.

What's Next

McConkey's status is the first domino, and it will be settled with Sunday's inactives about 90 minutes before kickoff. Beyond that, the Chargers face at least a month without Slater and an open question on Alt's neck. If Alt misses more time, the rookie tackles become a multi-week problem for Herbert's fantasy value.

For a team at 0-4, the stakes are high. Another loss would leave the Chargers in a deep hole in the AFC West, and fantasy managers holding Chargers pieces should start planning for an offense that may not stabilize until the line gets healthy.