Chargers’ Injury Roster Move is Latest Proof of the Mike McDaniel Flop

The Los Angeles Chargers faceplanted beyond all reasonable projections in the wake of the hyped arrival of Mike McDaniel.

Before the public embarrassment, the Chargers gave McDaniel pretty much whatever he wanted in the hopes of pushing the Jim Harbaugh era over the hump and unlocking another gear in the promising career of Justin Herbert.

But it just hasn’t worked, to put it nicely. Herbert looks lost in his own offense and is playing the worst ball of his career and the proof on the field shows that Joe Hortiz and the front office simply aren’t anywhere close to actually building a competitive roster.

The standard, staggeringly bad Chargers injury woes are here too, with the latest roster move just another sign of how poorly things have gone.

Chargers roster move after injury has big implications

One would think fullback injury news wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

Alas, here we are: The Chargers put Alec Ingold on injured reserve, which is expected to put a complete end to his season, both due to the issue and overall performance. The club only has so many IR-return spots they can use, anyway.

Ingold is symbolic of a much bigger problem. A hand-picked McDaniel signing from his Miami days, Ingold was one of those guys expected to make the transition to a new offense smoother, while giving the coach someone with the proper athletic profile to really make an impact in said scheme on the field, too.

Instead, Ingold has been horrendous, hitting on lowlights like this:

Drake Thomas showing the world how you get a starting job as an undersized LB pic.twitter.com/Wmt1kTlAAb
— LG (@GridIronically) October 7, 2026

It’s been so bad that Ingold has been replaced by Scott Matlock, a two-way player who has been something of a punchline amongst the Chargers fanbase.

Ingold isn’t the only “McDaniel guy” flopping right now. Guard Cole Strange went unquestioned as the starter after following him over from Miami. He’s been awful, to the tune of ranking 73rd out of 75 graded guards at PFF.

It can keep going. Tight end Charlie Kolar has caught six passes in three appearances and the running game isn’t exactly humming. Keaton Mitchell has carried it 33 times for 135 yards. Rookie draft pick wideout Brenen Thompson has appeared in two games, catching one pass.

Meanwhile, McDaniel has sidelined guys like Omarion Hampton and Oronde Gadsden for these outside arrivals as a bonus bit of insult to injury.

So, fullback injury news isn’t really just fullback injury news in Los Angeles. And when it’s Scott Matlock returning to play the hero, it’s a pretty good sign the Chargers are in deep disarray.

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google