Chargers Have Made Roster Adjustments Following the Week 2 Loss

The Los Angeles Chargers are now in desperate need of a win following their 0-2 start after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon by a final score of 26-14.

In the loss on Sunday, the Chargers suffered injuries to a variety of players, including offensive lineman Kayode Awosika (fibula), in addition to tight ends David Njoku (fibula) and Charlie Kolar (forearm).

The injuries to Njoku and Kolar in particular were tough as the Chargers placed them on injured reserve, per Adam Schefter, which means they will now be out for some time.

On that note, the Chargers made two roster moves as they signed tight end Hayden Rucci and waived wide receiver Gary Jennings. With the injuries the Chargers have already sustained to the tight end room, this appears to be a move that Los Angeles needed to make.

Rucci does have some experience with offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, as he played for McDaniel with the Miami Dolphins during the 2025 season. Last season, Rucci did not play a ton, as he played just four games, but for him to have experience in McDaniel's offense could be huge for him to adjust quickly and possibly play a rotational role for the Chargers offense.

Now looking at the tight end room, the depth chart does loom quite thin as the Chargers started last week and now have just two with Rucci serving as the backup to Oronde Gadsden.

With that said, Gadsden has to step up and figure out a way to be a consistent option for quarterback Justin Herbert in the passing game, because so far this season, the passing attack for the Chargers has not been very reliable or effective.

In Week 2, Gadsden made sure to take advantage of his opportunities as he had two receptions for 18 yards and one touchdown on two targets. While Gadsden was not targeted a whole lot, he did make sure to take advantage of his opportunities, which is something that Herbert could look to take advantage of heading into Week 3.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if Herbert does rely more heavily on Gadsden in the passing game to try to get this offense back on track. Additionally, it will be interesting to see if Rucci can be a solid target in the passing game, as well as potentially utilizing him in the run game as a blocker to create more lanes for running back Omarion Hampton and the rest of the Chargers' backfield.