The Los Angeles Chargers’ season has gone from messy to even more complicated.
After dropping their second straight game to open 2026, a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 2, the Chargers are now staring at a fresh wave of injuries that hits right where the offense is already thinnest. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said both top tight ends, David Njoku and Charlie Kolar, are going on injured reserve.
“David Njoku (fibula) and Charlie Kolar (forearm) are going on injured reserve, per Jim Harbaugh The Chargers have one tight end on its active roster.”
That leaves Los Angeles in a rough spot for Week 3 against the 2-0 Buffalo Bills. The Chargers lean heavily on multiple-tight-end looks, using 22 personnel at one of the highest rates in the NFL, and now Oronde Gadsden is the only healthy tight end on the active roster. Patrick Herbert, Justin Herbert’s younger brother, is on the practice squad, along with undrafted rookie Evan Svoboda.
The injury list doesn’t stop there. Harbaugh also said starting left guard Kayode Awosika and starting defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson will both miss time. Awosika has been the Chargers’ best interior offensive lineman and a steady presence next to rookie center Jake Slaughter, so his absence lands hard on an interior group that has already been lagging.
All of this is happening while the offense is still trying to settle in under new coordinator Mike McDaniel. The Chargers made a major offseason bet on McDaniel to modernize the attack, but the early returns have been ugly: procedural penalties, ball-security mistakes and an offense that still looks out of sync. Herbert, meanwhile, has not looked comfortable in the system, and the complexity of McDaniel’s approach appears to be weighing on the entire unit.
With the injuries piling up and the offense still searching for answers, the Chargers head into Week 3 short-handed and under real pressure to make the system work with far less than they planned for.
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Chargers 0-2 Start Just Sparked A Debate Fans Didn't Want
Two games into the 2026 season, the Chargers are already dealing with the kind of early frustration that tends to invite bigger questions. Losses to the Cardinals and Raiders have put the spotlight on more than just the record, with the discussion around the team quickly shifting to discipline, execution and whether the current approach is getting enough out of a roster built to contend.
Jim Harbaughs leadership is now part of the conversation, as are the repeated penalties that have followed Joe Alt and the uneven play from Chris OLearys defense. None of that is fatal in September, but it does leave the Chargers in a place they did not want to be this soon, with the stakes for the rest of the season already feeling a little heavier than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Justin Herberts Postgame Demeanor Just Added To Harbaugh Pressure
The Chargers 26-14 loss to the Raiders in Week 2 left them at 0-2, and Justin Herbert spent his postgame time trying to steady the message around a team already under early pressure. He said the focus has to be on correcting mistakes and staying united, a familiar refrain for a team searching for its first win while trying to avoid letting the opening stretch define the season.
Still, Herberts calm public approach only sharpened the conversation around Jim Harbaugh after another frustrating afternoon for the offense. Analyst John Frascella took aim at Harbaughs effect on Herberts confidence, adding another layer to the scrutiny now following the Chargers into a Week 3 matchup with the Bills. For a team with bigger expectations than an 0-2 start, the next game already feels like more than just another Sunday. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers' 0-2 Start Puts One Early Problem Front And Center
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For a team that expected to settle in quickly, the frustration is coming from the way the losses are piling up on themselves. Herberts two interceptions mattered, but so did the late fumble by Hampton, another costly mistake that undercut the kind of explosive plays the Chargers need to turn into wins. The talent is there, but after back-to-back setbacks, the most obvious early concern is how often Los Angeles is beating itself. [Read more 🡒]