Chargers drop final Week 8 injury report and hint towards an O-line reshuffling

The Chargers wrapped up their last practice on Friday before they attempt to get their first win of the season vs. the Rams. The much hyped "battle for LA" has taken on a different tone with both teams underperfoming this season.

The Chargers have dealt with a stunning amount of injuries throughout the season, but it seems like the BYE week has helped. The Chargers are projected to get OT Joe Alt, WR Ladd McConkey, and WR Tre' Harris back on Sunday.

The final Chargers Week 8 injury report-and how LA might handle the return of Joe Alt.

The final Chargers' injury report looks like this for Week 8:

Derwin James seemed like he was on track to possibly return after the BYE week. But HC Jim Harbaugh announced on Wednesday that he suffered a setback in rehab for his hamstring. Harbaugh mentioned the star safety as a possible candidate for IR. Brenen Thompson also suffered setback for his original quad injury in rehab that is now listed as "quad/hamstring".

LG Kayode Awosika is listed as OUT. He's still rehabbing a fibula injury that he suffered in Week 2 vs. Las Vegas. Along the interior line, it sounds like it would be LG Logan Taylor, C Jake Slaughter, and RG Cole Strange. Perhaps they could make an adjustment and put Branson Taylor or another left guard choice in. But I'd imagine it's still probably Taylor until one of Awosika or Trey Pipkins can return.

Alt's return also makes the offensive line decision there interesting. Travis Burke has started at left tackle following the injury to Rashawn Slater. He'll start at one of the top two tackle spots vs. the Rams.

But Harbaugh did not want to give out any info on the gameplan when asked about possible left tackle consideration for Alt. In the past without Slater, the team has had Alt flip over to left tackle when healthy. That could be the case with Burke moving back over to right tackle. Harbaugh opted to not say where any player was lining up when asked about the possible shift of Alt over to left tackle.

The setback to James isn't great. But the defense has been playing well enough without him. The question is whether Mike McDaniel's offense can show any signs of having a respectable floor. With Alt, McConkey, and Harris back, that possibility has at least slightly higher odds. And perhaps no one is more aware of their need for a good week than McDaniel himself.

Hopefully Alt being back can give the Chargers a leg up on their previous offensive performances without him. Based on how they played offensively before the bye week, they're going to need every break they can get against the Rams.

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