By admin 
The Los Angeles Chargers are badly in need of some good news and good luck after losing their first two games of the new NFL season to beatable teams in the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders. Their 0-2 record is even worse than it looks, as they lost both games at home by identical 26-14 scores, their offense and defense look completely out of sorts, and the odds are sharply against them making the playoffs this winter.
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To make matters worse, injuries are starting to pile up. On Sunday versus the Raiders, they lost offensive linemen Kayode Awosika and Trey Pipkins III, tight ends Charlie Kolar and David Njoku and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson to injury. In addition, star safety Derwin James Jr. injured the pinky finger on his left hand, and he will have to play with a cast on the injured finger.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh said that Awosika and Tomlinson will “miss some time.” So will Kolar, who has a forearm injury.
Kolar will undergo surgery
Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Kolar has a fractured forearm and will have a procedure to repair the injury.
Kolar isn’t much of a pass-catching threat, but he does thrive as a blocker, which is presumably why he came into this season listed first on L.A.’s depth chart. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel values tight ends who block proficiently, both in the passing and running game.
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Fowler, however, noted that Kolar does plan to return to game action after being placed on injured reserve. Per NFL rules, a player placed on injured reserve must miss at least four games before being eligible to play again.
Los Angeles only had one healthy tight end on its 53-man active roster, Oronde Gadsden II, following the injuries to Kolar and Njoku. On Tuesday, it signed TE Hayden Rucci to its active roster in order to try to fill the void left by both injuries.
Rucci, like Kolar, is not a pass-catching threat. He didn’t play in 2024 as an undrafted rookie, and last season, he spent much of his playing time on special teams and didn’t make a single reception.
But he does have the ability to block for his teammates, and as a member of the Miami Dolphins, he has played for McDaniel, which means he knows McDaniel’s zone-blocking scheme.
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This story was originally published September 23, 2026 at 12:28 AM.