Chargers Lose Tight Ends David Njoku and Charlie Kolar to Injured Reserve After 0-2 Start

Two of the Los Angeles Chargers' most significant offseason additions will be sidelined for at least a month after the team placed tight ends David Njoku and Charlie Kolar on injured reserve Monday, one day after a 26-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders dropped the club to 0-2. Head Coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters at the team's practice facility that Njoku suffered a fibula injury and Kolar a forearm injury during Sunday's game at SoFi Stadium, according to a team recap of Harbaugh's Monday press conference.

Under NFL roster rules, a player moved to injured reserve during the season must miss a minimum of four games before he is eligible to return, meaning neither Njoku nor Kolar can rejoin the Chargers before Week 7 at the earliest. Their departure leaves second-year tight end Oronde Gadsden II as the only healthy player at the position on the active roster as Los Angeles prepares to face the unbeaten Buffalo Bills in Week 3.

The injuries, and the numbers behind them

Njoku was carted off the field early in the second quarter of Sunday's loss after going down while blocking on a running play, a right-leg injury that the team later confirmed as a fracture of the fibula. He had appeared in only one game this season, catching five passes for 58 yards, according to the box score from the Raiders-Chargers Week 2 game, a defeat in which Las Vegas forced two fourth-quarter turnovers to improve to 2-0. Kolar, who had been used primarily as a blocker through the first two weeks, was hurt in the same game and will also miss a minimum of four contests.

The tight end losses were not the only injury news Harbaugh delivered Monday. He said left guard Kayode Awosika is dealing with a fibula injury and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson has a hamstring injury, and that both are expected to miss additional time. With starting left guard Trey Pipkins III still sidelined by a knee injury, Harbaugh said Trevor Penning will continue at left guard, adding that Penning "had efficient blocks, efficient plays" in relief.

How the Chargers got here

The injuries are a significant blow to an offseason plan built around adding proven pass-catching size at tight end. Njoku signed a one-year deal worth up to $8 million with the Chargers in May, ending a nine-year run with the Cleveland Browns that included his lone Pro Bowl selection following the 2023 season, when he caught 81 passes for 882 yards, according to his career record. Kolar arrived in March on a three-year, $24.3 million contract after four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, where he built a reputation as one of the league's more effective blocking tight ends.

Both were brought in to work under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who joined the Chargers this offseason after four seasons as head coach of the Miami Dolphins and was hired in part for offenses that historically lean on tight ends and pre-snap motion, according to NFL.com's report on his hiring. Instead, quarterback Justin Herbert has opened the season 0-2 with a retooled receiving corps that is now down to a single healthy tight end just two games into McDaniel's first year calling plays. McDaniel's Miami offenses averaged the NFL's fastest time to throw and one of its highest pre-snap motion rates from 2022 through 2025, a system built around quick decisions and multiple tight end sets, according to an ESPN report on the roster moves. Two games in, that transition has been rocky, with Herbert and the offense still searching for rhythm heading into a difficult early-season stretch.

Who is affected

Gadsden, a 2025 fourth-round pick who caught 49 passes for 664 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, is now the lone tight end on the 53-man roster, according to his team roster profile. Harbaugh made clear the club is comfortable leaning on him in the short term. "A lot of confidence in Oronde's game," Harbaugh said. "So many things that he does well. A lot of confidence in Oronde." The Chargers also carry two tight ends on their practice squad, Evan Svoboda and Patrick Herbert, who are candidates to be elevated or signed to the active roster before Sunday's game in Buffalo. Neither has appeared in a regular-season game this year, which would make either a significant step up in role if promoted.

For Herbert, the losses strip away two veteran targets at a position McDaniel's system is designed to feature, at the same time the offensive line is thinning out with Awosika and Pipkins both out and Penning stepping into a starting role. The timing is difficult: Buffalo enters Week 3 at 2-0, and a third straight loss would leave the Chargers searching for answers heading into the heart of the schedule.

Reaction and what happens next

Harbaugh struck a measured tone in discussing the setbacks, expressing confidence in Gadsden while acknowledging the team's need to adapt on short notice. "It's something we're working with the personnel department and the team," Harbaugh said of potential additions to the tight end room. "We're going through that today."

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. That's the general message," Harbaugh said. "I count on our guys. Yeah, we put a lot on them, we put a lot on ourselves, but No. 1 is the confidence you have in yourself."

Harbaugh also said the team's focus has shifted from Sunday's film to preparation for Buffalo, calling Wednesday's practice a key step. "It's a huge part of that formula, correcting and improving anything you can improve, with a real sense of urgency," he said. The Chargers are expected to make a roster move at tight end before facing the Bills, either by elevating a practice-squad player or pursuing an outside addition, while Njoku and Kolar begin recoveries that will keep them out into at least mid-October.