Chargers' Joe Alt ready to step up big after Rashawn Slater's injury

Picking up the pieces after Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending injury before Week 1 was never going to be easy for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Luckily for them, they have a guy like Joe Alt on the task.

Alt, the fifth overall pick last year who bullied his way onto the PFWA All-Rookie Team, has seamlessly slid over to left tackle and projects to have a sophomore surge, regardless.

After being named a captain, Alt says he’s taking Slater’s role as best he can in other ways, too.

"You try to," Alt said, according to Omar Navarro of the Chargers’ official website. "Rashawn is a huge part of our room and he's that voice ... all five of us [starters] and the room, we know Rashawn is a huge voice for us. We just have to pick up that slack."

While Alt shifted to left tackle, backup swing tackle Trey Pipkins got the nod as the starter on the right side.

It’s a shaky setup overall in front of Justin Herbert, considering Mekhi Becton had injury woes this summer and both Zion Johnson and Bradley Bozeman were starters last year, while the interior was a big weak point of the roster.

Alas, it’s hard to feel too poorly about the line when someone like Alt leads the way now. If he can provide some much-needed stability while Becton does the same on the interior, there’s still a chance the unit can recover and put on a better overall performance than what the unit showed a season ago.

Los Angeles Chargers tackle Joe Alt — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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