As the Los Angeles Chargers came away with the victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10, every single fan held their breath when standout rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden exited the game in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury.
While an MRI ultimately revealed no structural damage, and Gadsden appears set to play this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, even the prospect of his absence illuminated a rather frightening Chargers truth. What is happening with the tight ends that sit below him on the depth chart?
With how important the position is to what the team attempts to do in both the passing and the run game, they cannot wholly depend on the continued production of a rookie tight end, and the uncertain status of Will Dissly, combined with the lack of usage of Tucker Fisk and Tyler Conklin, creates a rather tenuous situation.
The Chargers would have taken a major hit had Gadsden needed to miss time
So far this season, Gadsden's performance as a pass-catcher and a blocker has been one of the pleasant surprises for this Chargers team. Coming into the league as a fifth-round pick, Gadsden has amassed 466 yards and two touchdowns on just 35 receptions since his emergence in Week 3, steadily becoming one of the team's most important offensive pieces from essentially the outset of his time in the NFL.
Not only does Gadsden present another big-play offensive threat, he also presents an all-important outlet for Justin Herbert when the pressure, let through by his sub-par offensive line, mounts.
Meanwhile, the player who was likely slated to be the starting tight end this season, Will Dissly, has only played in four games and has been a healthy scratch for the team's last two matchups for undisclosed reasons.
Moreover, Fisk has only seen 35% of the snaps on offense this season, while Conklin has only seen 21%. Both players have combined for just 13 targets and 114 yards.
While Fisk has always been a blocking tight end, and Conklin, at this point in his career, appears to be headed in the same direction, it does not seem as though the Chargers have any concrete plan for how they would approach the utilization of these players in the passing game were Gadsden to miss time.
Admittedly, all of this exists in the realm of the hypothetical, and Gadsden's full practice on Tuesday means that he is likely to play in Week 11 against Jacksonville. Nevertheless, the last thing the Chargers need is another major injury exposing a lack of positional depth as they attempt to continue their playoff push, and the uncertainty of their tight end situation presents a prime opportunity for this to occur.