The Los Angeles Chargers' success this season will depend on a wide array of factors. There's the uncertainty surrounding the ceiling for Mike McDaniel's new offensive scheme. There's also questions around whether Chris O'Leary can replicate Jesse Minter's success, or if Justin Herbert is truly up to the task of finding playoff success.
But there's almost nothing more important for Los Angeles than the availability of their two star tackles: Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. In his usual, brief fashion, Jim Harbaugh set aside those concerns in his press availability prior to the Chargers OTAs on Wednesday.
Jim Harbaugh on if Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt will be ready for the start of training camp: "It looks that way."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) May 27, 2026
This isn't the first promising update we've gotten about Alt and Slater's status this offseason. But as we get closer to the season, the pair's ability to stay on track to enter training camp at full health only becomes more paramount.
If Harbaugh thinks that it looks to be trending way, that's enough assurance to be hopeful for the Chargers to enter 2026 at full strength.
The Chargers' success in 2026 hinges on Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater's health
There are lots of places to put the blame for the Chargers' failures in 2026. Most of them, including Greg Roman and the entirety of the interior offensive line, have already been removed from the equation. But at the end of the day, it truly all came down to the season-ending injuries that Alt and Slater suffered.
Slater didn't play a single snap in 2025 after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in an offseason workout. Alt appeared in six games, missing Weeks 5 and 6 with an ankle injury and ultimately undergoing season-ending surgery when it was re-aggravated in Week 9. After Alt's departure, things were pretty dismal.
Between Weeks 10 and 18, the Chargers allowed 31 sacks and cycled through a number of backups at the tackle spots. For all intents and purposes, the Alt injury represented the end of their shot at Super Bowl contention.
But with a Tyler Biadasz, Cole Strange, and Jake Slaughter in the picture, things look completely different now. Of course, there's room for serious disappointment given the unproven nature of their starting guards. But McDaniel has stuck to his ability to scheme around below-average guard play. If the Chargers have both of their star tackles in the fold, the confidence in the offensive line should be sky-high compared to last season.
Los Angeles' ceiling, therefore, will be determined by Alt and Slater's availability in 2026. Harbaugh's single-sentence statement serves to provide further hope that they'll quickly return to their prior form.
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