EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers left sort out Joe Alt will bear season-ending ankle surgical procedure, for the excessive proper ankle sprain he sustained within the Chargers win over the Tennessee Titans, in keeping with a staff spokesperson.
The harm got here within the second quarter, when Titans defensive sort out Sebastian Joseph-Day fell into Alt’s proper ankle.
It is the second excessive ankle sprain Alt has had this season. He exited the primary quarter of the staff’s Week 4 loss to the New York Giants on a medical cart and missed the subsequent three video games with the identical harm.
“I really feel dangerous for Joe,” coach Jim Harbaugh stated, “however I do know it’ll be OK.”
All through the offseason, the Chargers boasted about having the league’s greatest sort out duo — with Alt and Professional Bowl sort out Rashawn Slater. Now the Chargers must play this season with out each, and the accidents to the offensive line do not cease there.
Slater suffered a season-ending patellar tendon rupture in his left knee in coaching camp. Proper guard Mekhi Becton, the staff’s high free agent offseason signing, has been out and in of the lineup with accidents all year long and missed Sunday’s win with a knee harm.
Proper sort out Bobby Hart additionally obtained injured Sunday, leaving the sport within the first quarter after Titans exterior linebacker Dre’Mont Jones fell into his left knee. The staff stated that Hart has a groin and ankle harm. Harbaugh stated he did not assume Hart would land on injured reserve.
With out Alt, the Chargers have been a very totally different staff — struggling to run the ball and defenses continuously placing quarterback Justin Herbert underneath duress.
The Chargers are 4-0 this season when Alt performs your entire sport and 2-3 when he would not. Herbert has a QBR of 80 with Alt on the sector and a QBR of 56 with out him. L.A.’s move block win fee of 52.6% this season ranks thirtieth within the NFL, however with out Alt, that quantity drops to a league-worst 48%, in keeping with ESPN Analytics/NFL Subsequent Gen Stats.
The accidents have plagued different positions too – significantly at operating again.
Veteran Najee Harris suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture towards the Giants.
In Week 5, operating again Omarion Hampton sustained an ankle harm that landed him on injured reserve. Harbaugh stated Monday that he would not assume Hampton’s follow window to return from IR can be opened till after the Week 12 bye. The staff positioned operating again Hassan Haskins on injured reserve with a hamstring harm forward of the Titans sport.
So, towards the Titans Sunday, the Chargers performed their 4th, fifth and sixth string operating backs and can probably try this for not less than till Hampton returns.
“It is adversity and also you simply do the perfect you possibly can and get higher,” Harbaugh stated of overcoming the accidents. “By no means hand over. These three key parts, and yeah, perhaps a lesser staff, a lesser man would not discover a manner to try this, however that is what we do.”