Chargers Drop the Most Chargers Injury Update for Charlie Kolar, David Njoku and More

The Chargers drop to 0-2 and the offense looks lost. See how hard the task of righting the ship will become with all the injuries announced by Jim Harbaugh.

Sep 20, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers tight end David Njoku (83) is carted off the field against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Chargers dropped their second straight game to start the 2026 season to the Las Vegas Raiders in week two. The Chargers are trying to find themselves amidst a whirlwind of problems that are plaguing the offense and that task is about to get exponentially harder. Head coach Jim Harbaugh will be facing tough questions going forward.

Los Angeles saw multiple starting offensive players go down with injuries on Sunday. The revolving door of starting players did nothing to aid in building offensive continuity as the Chargers offense still appears lost and dysfunctional. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has struggled to find the correct balance with the available roster and the end results have been marred by procedural penalties and ball protection blunders.

The task of righting the ship in week three against the 2-0 Buffalo Bills will be significantly harder as head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that the Chargers injury curse is still around with both top tight ends Charlie Kolar and David Njoku will be placed 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.

— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) September 21, 2026

The Chargers offense relies on multiple tight end sets. Los Angeles runs 22 personnel, with two tight ends on the field, at one of the highest rates in the NFL. Oronde Gadsden is now the only healthy tight end on the roster with Justin Herbert's younger brother Patrick Herbert on the practice squad alongside undrafted rookie Evan Svoboda.

Mike McDaniel may have been running too many complex plays and on-field options for the players to grasp so early in the new system. No matter what, he will need to change the offense and the formation usage in week three being short handed at tight end.

In addition to the top starting tight ends going down, Harbaugh announced that starting left guard Kayode Awosika and starting defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson will both miss time with injuries. Awosika has been the best interior offensive lineman for the Chargers and a grounding force next to rookie center Jake Slaughter. His absence will be hard to overcome with the rest of the interior lagging behind.

The Chargers made a massive bet in the offseason by bringing in Mike McDaniel to move the offense into the modern NFL and to the cutting edge. So far, the offensive install has not gone smoothly and the offense is plagued by mistakes and the players still appear lost. Quarterback Justin Herbert is clearly not comfortable in the offense and it is obvious that the rest of the offense is drowning in the complexities of Mike McDaniel's system.