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Chargers Starter Gives Team New Injury Concern Entering Playoffs After Sunday's News

Starting left tackle Rashawn Salter was made inactive for Sunday's regular season finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.

By Jovan Alford

Dec 19, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh watches game action against the Denver Broncos during the first half at SoFi Stadium.
Dec 19, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh watches game action against the Denver Broncos during the first half at SoFi Stadium. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Chargers clinched their playoff berth with an impressive 40-7 road win over the New England Patriots in Week 17. 

Even though they won last week, the Chargers still have a chance to better their playoff seeding with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders. With that in mind, head coach Jim Harbaugh is playing his starters in Sunday’s regular-season finale.

However, the Chargers are missing one of their starters on the offensive line for Sunday’s game, which isn’t what you want to hear going into the playoffs. 

Chargers News: Rashawn Slate Ruled Inactive for Week 18 vs. Raiders

According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, Chargers starting left tackle Rashawn Slater was listed as inactive with a knee injury. Popper adds that Slater left discomfort in his knee during the pregame stretch, leading to the Chargers making him inactive.

Without Slater on the field, the Chargers went with rookie Joe Alt at left tackle, who is usually at right tackle. Meanwhile, veteran Trey Pipkins III slid to right tackle from right guard. And at right guard, Los Angeles went with backup third-year lineman Jamaree Salyer.

The Chargers will hope Salter’s injury isn’t too serious as they’ll need him for whoever they play in the Super Wild Card Weekend round. As things currently stand, the Chargers are tentatively scheduled to play the Houston Texans, who have a good defensive line that features Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.

This season, the fourth-year lineman has held his own and been one of the better tackles in the league.

Salter has an overall grade of 91.1 on PFF (third-best among 138 tackles), which includes terrific pass-blocking (90.4) and run-blocking (82.8) grades. The former first-round pick has allowed three sacks and been penalized six times in 903 offensive snaps.

With the Chargers entering a win-or-go-home scenario next week, the team will closely watch Salter’s injury status leading up to the wild card game.

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