EL SEGUNDO — If adding more depth to the roster was the prime objective for Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz during the offseason, and it was, then he looked like a content man on Monday. Maybe not satisfied because, let’s face it, no GM in any sport is satisfied unless he’s lifting a championship trophy at the end of the season.
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Hortiz revamped a number of positions during a busy offseason, and none more so than the offensive line. Injuries and substandard play during the 2025 season left Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert in vulnerable positions all too frequently. He was sacked a career-high 54 times.
Left guard Kayode Awosika signed as a free agent from the Detroit Lions as did center Tyler Biadasz from the Washington Commanders and Cole Strange from the Miami Dolphins. Four of the eight draft picks were offensive linemen, starting with second-round pick Jake Slaughter.
Biadasz’s season-ending knee injury, suffered during a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 18, could have proved to be devastating for the Chargers. Slaughter showed the coaching staff and Hortiz that he’s smart enough and skilled enough to step into a starting role.
“His first snaps at center (during the preseason games), I thought, honestly, ‘Wow, he looks good,’” Hortiz said Monday, the day after the Chargers and the NFL’s other 31 teams cut their rosters down to a league-mandated 53 players, with 17 additional players on the practice squad. “I’m excited for him. I think he’s going to do great.”
Hortiz referred questions to the coaching staff about the training camp battle at left guard that, in the final days, appeared to be won by Awosika, saying, “That’s not my decision. I’ll say this about our offensive line, we kept 11 of them and then we have Branson (Taylor) on IR. We’re excited about all those guys.
“I really felt like going into the cut (Sunday), man, it’s going to be hard to keep 12 worthy offensive linemen (on a 53-man roster). Branson is working through something, and we just made it work with the roster where we’re going to keep them all and we’ll see what happens.”
In addition, Hortiz bolstered the tight end position by signing free agents Charlie Kolar from the Baltimore Ravens and David Njoku from the Cleveland Browns, two capable veterans. Kolar is known as a top blocking tight end who can make plays when called upon, and he’s likely to be called upon.
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Those two and Oronde Gadsden, a fifth-round draft pick in 2025, will provide Herbert with more and better protection and more and better targets as Herbert gains comfort in new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s new offense. McDaniel gave only tiny little glimpses of his game plan during three preseason games in August.
“Justin looks great in any offense,” Hortiz said.
Hortiz also raved about the bond between McDaniel, who spent the past four seasons as head coach of the Dolphins, and Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Hortiz said he knew it would be successful from the moment the Chargers met with McDaniel, his wife and their daughter.
“We were just talking about ball, talking about life, talking about Manhattan Beach, talking about the Chargers, talking about Justin,” Hortiz said of the team’s initial interview with McDaniel back in January. “It just kept ramping up, and the excitement just carried on.
“Jim loves football and has fun being out here (on the practice field). Mike loves football and has fun being out here. They’re both such creative and curious minds. It’s like two atoms colliding. It’s going to be nuclear, like, in a positive way. Like, nuclear fusion, nuclear power, harnessing it. They have fun together, they work well together, there’s excitement.”
ROSTER MOVES
As expected, the Chargers re-signed punter JK Scott one day after releasing him Sunday in order to gain roster flexibility in building their initial 53-man roster. In addition, they placed linebacker Denzel Perryman on injured reserve in order to make room for Scott on the 53-man roster.
Perryman will be sidelined for at least the first four games of the season.
PRACTICE SQUAD
The Chargers signed 16 players to their practice squad: Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei; running backs Greg Desrosiers and Amar Johnson; wide receivers Devonte Ross and Gary Jennings; tight end Evan Svoboda; offensive linemen John Kaltenberger and Laekin Vakahahi; defensive linemen Jahmeer Carter and Terry Webb; linebackers Junior Colson, Lander Barton, Andre Carter and Nadame Tucker; and cornerbacks Isas Waxter and NIkko Reed.
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