Every McDaniel-Herbert pitch this offseason for the Los Angeles Chargers came with an unspoken asterisk because everyone knew none of it would work unless the big guys up front stayed healthy.

Four games in to the season without a win, and now that asterisk is the whole story.

Rashawn Slater is the latest casualty as the Pro Bowl left tackle went down in the fourth quarter at in Week 4 with a high right ankle sprain, needed surgery, and landed on injured reserve.

It’s especially painful because Slater spent all of 2025 recovering from a torn patellar tendon. He finally got back on the field, and a month later, he’s sidelined again, early in a $114 million extension.

Losing your blind-side protector would rattle any team, but for the Chargers, it’s one more hit to a unit that was already stretched thin.

Tyler Biadasz, the center they signed to stabilize the middle, was done for the year before September.

Kayode Awosika, who won the left guard job in camp, hasn’t played since Week 2 because of a fibula injury.

Trey Pipkins III, the first man up behind him, is on IR with a bad knee. Trevor Penning, the next option, is in the concussion protocol.

Not to mention Joe Alt, the other franchise tackle, is nursing a neck injury that’s expected to keep him out against Denver.

That’s five linemen who were supposed to matter this season, and none of them is available right now.

The clearest picture of the damage came at the end of the Seattle game. The Chargers finished with Cole Strange and four rookies: Travis Burke, Jacob Spomer, Jake Slaughter, and Logan Taylor.

Burke had been playing tight end, but there was nobody left on the bench to bring in so he was forced to make a brief transition to full time blocker.

Herbert has paid for all of it, taking twelve sacks in four games, which puts him near the top of the league in a category no quarterback wants to lead, and his rising interception total is easier to understand when you watch how little time he’s getting.

Help won’t come in a single move; it's going to have to come from scraping together whatever is left.

Branson Taylor, who impressed coaches throughout camp, now has his return window open from IR.

Rookie Alex Harkey is another option, and the team brought veteran Daniel Brunskill onto the practice squad for snaps in an emergency.

None of them is going to make the Pro Bowl, but right now, experience matters more than talent.

The bigger hope is Alt. Once his neck clears, Harbaugh has floated the idea of moving him to left tackle and letting Burke handle the right side.

That gives Herbert one dependable edge and turns a full-blown crisis into something more manageable.

McDaniel's offense depends on timing, motion, and play-action, but that’s hard to run with a line that can’t hold up for three seconds.

He’ll likely need to call quicker throws, use backs and tight ends to help block, and lean on the run game to slow down the pass rush.

It’s worth remembering that the Chargers’ best stretch of offense this season came in the second half in Seattle, with those rookies on the field.

The calendar also won’t wait. If Slater misses a month, he’ll miss Denver, Kansas City, and the Rams.

A team that’s already 0-4 can’t afford to wait for help. It has to start winning with whoever is still standing.