{"id":650756,"date":"2026-01-03T13:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T13:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/650756\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T13:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T13:24:23","slug":"chargers-rookie-oronde-gadsden-ii-looking-to-fine-tune-his-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/650756\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers rookie Oronde Gadsden II looking to fine-tune his game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oronde Gadsden II<\/a> had the ball in his hands.<\/p>\n

He could feel it against his gloves \u2014 and the sensation of the ball bouncing out of his grasp<\/a> before it fell into the arms of Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.<\/p>\n

Gadsden\u2019s goal-line gaffe was one of several mistakes that played a role in ending the Chargers<\/a>\u2019 four-game winning streak last week. <\/p>\n

Quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a>, however, continued to target the rookie tight end after the missed catch, providing a much-needed morale boost, Gadsden said.<\/p>\n

\"Texans <\/p>\n

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair intercepts a pass that deflected off the hands of Chargers tight end Oronde Gadsden II, bottom, during the Chargers\u2019 loss on Dec. 27.<\/p>\n

(Kyusung Gong \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot that he\u2019s able to keep looking at me and keep throwing me the ball even after what happened,\u201d said Gadsden, who has caught 47 passes for 641 yards and three touchdowns this season. \u201cBut it\u2019d be better if we just make the plays. I know it can\u2019t always go like that \u2014 can\u2019t always go your way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against the AFC West champion Denver Broncos (13-3) on Sunday, Gadsden will have a final chance to fine-tune his game ahead of the wild-card playoffs. But for some of the Chargers\u2019 other starters, the game will offer something different.<\/p>\n

Herbert will not play against the Broncos, giving him a chance to rest his surgically repaired left (non-throwing) hand ahead of the playoffs. Trey Lance<\/a> will start in Herbert\u2019s place. Coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> said Friday that some starters would only play in a backup or emergency capacity.<\/p>\n

Lance, who spoke to reporters Wednesday, said he\u2019s ready for his first start with the Chargers.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing through everything my first five years in the league, I\u2019ve just learned to take everything one day at a time, one hour at a time,\u201d said Lance, selected third overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFL draft. \u201cIf I\u2019m in a meeting, that\u2019s where I\u2019m at. If I\u2019m at home, it\u2019s where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lance continued: \u201cVery thankful, just very thankful that I\u2019m going to get the opportunity to get on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of Herbert, running back Omarion Hampton<\/a> (ankle) also will not play \u2014 a move that could be precautionary after the rookie spent roughly half of the season on injured reserve after fracturing his left ankle. Offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer (hamstring), who had slotted in at left tackle after Joe Alt\u2019s injury<\/a>, hasn\u2019t practiced in two weeks and is listed as doubtful.<\/p>\n

Rookie offensive lineman Branson Taylor took reps at left guard in practice this week, which could be a sign that Zion Johnson, who has started every game this season at the position, may take a breather against the Broncos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to take full advantage of the opportunity,\u201d said Taylor, ahead of his potential second practice-squad elevation.<\/p>\n

Veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen told reporters he plans to play in order to achieve incentives that could add $1.75 million to his one-year contract.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Denver is expected to play its starters as it tries to clinch the AFC\u2019s top playoff seed and a first-round bye. The Chargers would be more than happy to play spoiler against their in-division foe, Gadsden said, as they go for an AFC West sweep on the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that us having dudes sit down lessens any chances that we have \u2014 any motivation or confidence \u2014 to win the game,\u201d Gadsden said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oronde Gadsden II had the ball in his hands. He could feel it against his gloves \u2014 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2056],"tags":[14018,6827,232,241,94586,7,8500,853,1389,221,253,2368,5625,6,94585,319,189,222,149,2721,1549],"class_list":["post-650756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston-texans","tag-ankle","tag-ball","tag-broncos","tag-chargers","tag-final-chance","tag-football","tag-gadsden","tag-game","tag-herbert","tag-houston","tag-houston-texans","tag-houstontexans","tag-left","tag-nfl","tag-other-starter","tag-playoff","tag-season","tag-texans","tag-time","tag-trey-lance","tag-week"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115831391398178910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}