0-4 and Running Out of Bodies: The Chargers' Injury Report Is Longer Than a CVS Receipt

There's a bad start, and then there's whatever the Chargers are doing right now.

Los Angeles is 0-4, last in the AFC West, and on Friday the team released an injury report that reads like the end credits of a Marvel movie. Jim Harbaugh didn't sign up for this. Nobody signed up for this.

The damage, by the numbers

Last updated Oct. 9, 2026, 8:20 p.m. PT. Per the Chargers' official Week 5 injury report:

OUT vs. Denver (7):

• Joe Alt (neck)
• Kayode Awosika (fibula)
• Donte Jackson (hamstring)
• Derwin James Jr. (hamstring)
• Quentin Johnston (chest)
• Brenen Thompson (quad)
• Trevor Penning (concussion)

Doubtful: QB Trey Lance (groin).

Questionable (5): Ladd McConkey (foot), Charlie Kolar (forearm), Scott Matlock (foot), Branson Taylor (neck) and Rodney Shelley (hamstring).

And that's before the injured reserve list, which includes tackle Rashawn Slater (ankle, expected back around Week 8), plus Tyler Biadasz, David Njoku, Denzel Perryman, Trey Pipkins and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.

Count 'em up. That's both bookend tackles (Slater and Alt), a star safety, two of the team's top receivers and the backup quarterback. Yikes.

So who's catching passes?

If McConkey can't go, Chargers Wire's Gavino Borquez notes the healthy receiver room is basically Tre' Harris, Derius Davis and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. That's... a group. A group of three people. Who are receivers.

And with both Alt and Penning out, the protection plan for Sunday is going to involve a lot of prayer, chips from tight ends and quick throws. Expect plenty of the latter.

How we got here

The Chargers have lost to Arizona, Las Vegas, Buffalo and Seattle, per Pro-Football-Reference. It's not one thing. It's everything, one body part at a time.

Our take (opinion): we're not ready to bury this team. Harbaugh's whole résumé is built on squeezing wins out of rosters nobody believed in, and the AFC West race is still young. But "still young" has a shelf life. Lose at home to Denver and you're 0-5 with a division loss and a trainer's room that needs its own zip code. That's when the "punt the season" talk gets real, fast.

Sunday: Broncos at Chargers

Kickoff: Sunday, Oct. 11, 1:05 p.m. PT, SoFi Stadium, on CBS, per ESPN's schedule. Denver comes in at 2-2.

What to watch:

• The edge rush vs. the backup tackles. If Denver gets home early, this gets ugly.
• McConkey's status. He's the one receiver who can turn a 5-yard throw into 25. Check before lineup lock.
• Can the defense steal one without James? It might need a takeaway or two to keep things close.

Fantasy fallout (free advice, no charge)

• Ladd McConkey: if he's active, he's a volume-based WR3. Our Week 5 model docks questionable players by 15% and already pegs a tough matchup. Monitor Sunday morning.
• Keaton Mitchell: our rankings have Denver as one of the friendlier matchups for running backs this week, and he's rostered in only about a quarter of ESPN leagues. Deep-league dart throw.
• Tre' Harris: bodies equal targets. In deep PPR leagues he's worth a look if McConkey sits.

Our take (opinion): the bar for Sunday is simple. Compete, protect the quarterback and get out healthy. Win, and the season gets a pulse. Lose, and it's time for some very uncomfortable questions in Inglewood.

Bolt up. Then maybe bubble-wrap everyone.