On Monday, the Chargers received fairly devastating news in the tight end room as Jim Harbaugh said both Charlie Kolar and David Njoku would be heading to IR. But after Kolar had surgery to repair his forearm on Monday, Harbaugh issued an update-Kolar won’t be placed on IR. Only TE David Njoku (fibula) will head to injured reserve.

Njoku was placed on IR as the team signed WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling from the practice squad. The Chargers made a move in the TE room yesterday as they signed Hayden Rucci following the injuries to Njoku and Kolar. When asked if Kolar has a chance to play this week, Harbaugh said no. But not putting him on IR means that the Chargers are leaving the door open to their top blocking tight end returning in fewer than the mandatory four weeks.

Mike McDaniel’s Chargers offense needs Charlie Kolar badly. No way around it.

Kolar was the best blocker on film for the Chargers on Sunday. He consistently opened up the running game for Omarion Hampton. PFF graded him as the teams’ best run blocker on Sunday with a score of 75.2. The performance against the Raiders was a showcase why OC Mike McDaniel and GM Joe Hortiz made Kolar a priority this offseason.

Oronde Gadsden II and David Njoku simply don’t have the same impact as true Y blockers for McDaniel’s scheme. The Chargers will have to mitigate that in the interim with better performances from Gadsden, Alec Ingold, Rucci, and other blockers. The absence of Kolar particularly hurts this week with the elite Bills’ defensive line options that can give the Chargers trouble.

It’s a bummer to lose Kolar for one game against a true AFC contender. But the good news today is that it seems like it won’t be the full four games IR would’ve required. Quite frankly at 0-2, the Chargers could not afford to lose both Kolar and Njoku for extended time. That’s especially true considering the Murderers’ Row of defensive lines they have coming up on the schedule. After they play Buffalo, they have Seattle and Denver’s defensive trench talent up next.

Gadsden will at least provide quality receiving for the Chargers in the interim despite his blocking deficiencies. The Chargers can make the next few weeks without Kolar work, but it requires not beating themselves on offense in terms of penalties, turnovers, and blocking assignment recognition. That has to be an emphasis for McDaniel this week.

The Chargers will have to face the Bills without Kolar at 10 AM PT on Sunday. But there’s at least some renewed hope that he can return to the offense earlier than expected.

Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow