The Los Angeles Chargers, with their decision to start Jamaree Salyer at left tackle in Week 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders, may have found the solution to the problem that has plagued them all season: their sub-par tackle play in the absences of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater.
While Salyer certainly didn't play to the level that Alt would be expected to against Las Vegas, he had a solid outing, and offensive coordinator Greg Roman has recently sung the fourth-year lineman's praises:
Chargers OC Greg Roman on LT Jamaree Salyer: "He's a really intelligent human being. He has a good feel for leverage, body position, where to his anchor his weight when he needs to...Lotta really good traits there, a lot of nuance goes into him playing left tackle."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) December 4, 2025
If there's one thing that Justin Herbert has proved this season, it's that he can do a lot with even league-average pass protection. The Chargers will desperately need Salyer to maintain this level of performance for the duration of the season.
If he can, it will go a long, long way toward helping the team's offense pass through the gauntlet that their final five games represent.
Jamaree Salyer is the Chargers' X-Factor, and his performance so far gives the team a reason for hope
This season not only has been disastrous from an injury perspective for Los Angeles's offensive line, but also from a perspective of performance. They have now missed both of their star tackles for the large majority of the season, and, for the most part, the players that have come in to replace them have been horrendous.
Moreover, the interior of their offensive line, which still features all three of the team's intended starters at the beginning of the season, has been amongst the worst in the league.
For several weeks, therefore, Herbert has had to make do with some of the worst pass protection in the NFL, and it has severely stunted the Chargers' offense as a result.
Yet, with a new blindside protector in Salyer against the Raiders, Herbert found his form yet again. While he only threw for 151 yards on the day, he completed 15 of his 20 passes, and Salyer's ability to hold off Las Vegas's pass rush played a huge part in this success.
Nevertheless, this begs the question. If Salyer has always possessed these traits, why wait this long to make the move to him at left tackle? Austin Deculus, Bobby Hart and Trevor Penning, when they've played, have all been decidedly awful.
Still, the original point stands. Salyer appears the be the team's most solid option on that side of the line at this point in the season, and, if the level of performance he put up against the Raiders continues, he could be one of the major reasons this team is able to force its way into a Wild Card spot.