What is State of Chargers' Offensive Line Post Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater Injury News?

It is Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season, and the Los Angeles Chargers are already back to the same spot they seemingly have been stuck in since the inception of the franchise. They are down a plethora of offensive linemen, with always the best players being held out due to injury.

With that, the Chargers' injury report was as long as a CVS receipt, with offensive linemen being the bulk of what was listed ahead of the Week 5 matchup against the Denver Broncos and their elite defense.

With all the injuries, what is the current state of the Chargers offensive line?

The Estimated Starting Group

LT: Logan Taylor/Branson Taylor*
LG: Alex Harkey
C: Jake Slaughter
RG: Cole Strange
RT: Travis Burke

This is the expected starting group after Rashawn Slater was placed on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. Joe Alt is listed as OUT with a neck injury, coupled with Kayode Awosika and Trevor Penning also being out with a fibula injury and a concussion, respectively.

*It should be noted that Branson Taylor is officially listed as questionable, as he is coming off injured reserve. If he were to play, I would expect him to slot in as the left tackle, allowing Logan Taylor to play left guard in place of Alex Harkey.

This starting group should not instill any sort of confidence in fans or even the rest of the team. They will also be going up against a Denver Broncos defensive unit that has always given the Chargers fits, even when their OL was in better shape. Slaughter and Burke should be solid in their roles, given that they have shown enough this season to be NFL-caliber players. As for the rest of the group...we can only hope to see flashes of NFL-level play to allow for hope for the Chargers OL depth in the future.

The Depth Options

Jacob Spomer will serve as the team's backup center option, if Slaughter were to go out or were to need to move to a guard spot. Spomer was arguably the team's best UDFA, being one of few making the team's final 53 man roster.

The Chargers will also have two more bodies that they are expected to elevate off the practice squad, those names being Laekin Vakalahi and the recently acquired Daniel Brunskill. Vakalahi is the Bolts' International Player Pathway individual who has raw athletic ability but needs much more time on task, likely making him the last-resort type of option for the team.

As for Brunskill, he is a long-time NFL veteran who has experience in the Mike McDaniel offensive scheme, starting five games for the Miami Dolphins and McDaniel in 2025. He is expected to be the first off the bench, knowing how to play all five spots across the OL, even if he was only signed three days ago.

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google