T
he Los Angeles Chargers came into the 2025 season with lofty expectations after going 11-6 and earning a playoff berth last season. Investing heavily on improving their roster, the Chargers came into the new campaign considered Super Bowl contenders and so far, they have lived up to the hype. Possessing a 3-1 record and leading the AFC West, the Chargers are looking good.
But injuries have started to mount and the Chargers hope that they can get some guys back and healthy so they are at full strength when they approach the heart of their schedule. In the Chargers’ week four loss to the New York Giants, another key player went down with an injury. Left tackle Joe Alt suffered an ankle injury and did not return. Now, it looks increasingly likely that Alt will miss week six, potentially forcing the Chargers to play without quarterback Justin Herbert’s blindside protector.
Alt is ‘Doubtful’ to Play
Alt suffered a right ankle injury in the first quarter of the week four loss, when Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux fell onto Alt’s leg during a play. Alt was carted off and after running through some tests, it was confirmed that he suffered a high ankle sprain. Speaking with the media on Wednesday, Oct. 1, head coach Jim Harbaugh said that while he is not sure if Alt will need to go on the injured reserve, he does not expect the second-year lineman out of Notre Dame to play against the Washington Commanders.
“I don’t want to speculate on the degree, but likely not to play this week, and we’ll take it day by day,” Harbaugh said.
Alt spoke on his injury on Oct. 1 as well, and while it is unfortunate what happened, he acknowledged that it is part of the game and his only focus now is getting back to being healthy.
“It’s part of the game,” Alt said Wednesday.”We sign up to play this game and injuries are part of it. So my mindset right now is, ‘Hey, it happened, now we just get back as fast as we can.”
Can the Chargers Survive Without Alt?
Losing Alt in general is a big deal, but losing Alt when the Chargers are already down Rashawn Slater is detrimental. When Slater, the primary left tackle, suffered a torn patellar tendon during a training camp practice on Aug. 7, the Chargers were forced to move Alt from right tackle to left tackle in order to give Herbert an elite blindside protector. But now that Alt is hurt, the Chargers will have their backs against the wall.
Once Alt went down, the Chargers’ offensive line against the Giants struggled mightily. Herbert was hit 13 times and sacked twice, with Alt’s replacement– Austin Deculus— allowing six pressures in his 37 pass-blocking snaps, which was the most of any Chargers lineman. If Alt is out long term, the Chargers will need to find a way to put together a formidable line in order to keep Herbert protected and upright.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Chargers Get Troubling Update on Joe Alt appeared first on Heavy Sports.