EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Chargers are placing left tackle Rashawn Slater on injured reserve after successful ankle surgery, the team announced Friday.
Slater suffered a high right ankle sprain in the fourth quarter of the Chargers' loss to the Seattle Seahawks and will miss at least four games.
Losing Slater adds to a long list of Chargers injuries as the team tries to win its first game of the season Sunday against the Denver Broncos. The Chargers will likely be without three starting linemen, as Joe Alt (neck) and left guard Kayode Awosika (fibula) also are nursing injuries.
Awosika hasn't played since Week 2. His backup, Trey Pipkins III (knee), was placed on IR after Week 2, and third-stringer Trevor Penning is in concussion protocol.
It doesn't stop there. Safety Derwin James Jr. (hamstring), cornerback Donte Jackson (hamstring) and wide receiver Ladd McConkey (foot) missed practice this week. James didn't play in the loss against Seattle; McConkey and Jackson exited the game early. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston (chest) was also ruled out Friday.
The injuries to the offensive line mean the Chargers could play a group Sunday that features four rookies -- Logan Taylor, Jake Slaughter, Jacob Spomer and Travis Burke -- as they did for the final 11 snaps of the loss against Seattle. The Chargers have other options including Branson Taylor, who had a standout camp and is eligible to return from IR this week, rookie Alex Harkey and veteran Daniel Brunskill, whom the team signed to the practice squad this week.
Slater, who is in the first year of a four-year, $114 million extension he signed in July 2025, missed all of last season after rupturing the patellar tendon in his left knee in training camp.
Through four weeks this year, he ranked as the league's eighth-worst tackle in pass block win rate (75.3%), according to ESPN Analytics and NFL Next Gen Stats. In Sunday's loss, he had a team-low one pressure allowed.
