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The Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, but they suffered an even larger loss than the one that shows up in the win-loss column. During the game Rashawn Slater had to exit with an injury, it was announced on Monday that Slater had suffered a ruptured biceps tendon and will now miss the rest of the season. In Slater’s place, it was Storm Norton that replaced him, and it was not pretty. Norton allowed eight pressures, the most on the team, despite not starting the game. The Chargers need someone on that line to protect Justin Herbert, and there are three free agents available they could look towards. 

Chargers LT Rashawn Slater suffered a ruptured biceps tendon in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars and is expected to miss the rest of the 2022 season, per @TomPelissero pic.twitter.com/jofEdBxycO

— TWSN (@TWSN___) September 26, 2022

Eric Fisher

It was an off-year for Eric Fisher to start in 2021, but he quickly turned things around as the season went on and looked almost like his All-Pro self. While he did allow seven sacks, he was trying to learn a new Indianapolis Colts system last season that had Carson Wentz at quarterback, so all the sacks can’t exactly be put on Fisher. He is still great at pass protection, as well as getting up to the second level to block efficiently. Even how he diagnoses defenses still shows up, he does an impressive job of picking up blitzes from linebackers as well as stunts from defensive linemen. Fisher is the best offensive tackle left in free agency, and someone the Chargers should truly consider to protect Herbert. 

Daryl Williams

The second-best offensive linemen left on the free agent market is Daryl Williams. What helps with Williams is he is extremely versatile, he has experience playing both tackle and guard spots on the offensive line. Williams is still a starting-caliber offensive linemen, as shown by his play last year with the Buffalo Bills. He is someone the Chargers would be able to plug-and-play right away. When it comes to pass blocking he has never earned a grade below a 60 which truly speaks to his consistency. Like Fisher, he has good enough recognition skills to go up against the likes of the edge rushers in the AFC West. In a situation like the Chargers are in again, Williams did a good job blocking for Josh Allen and would help Herbert as well. 

Quinton Spain

Yes, the Chargers need to replace Slater who is a tackle and Spain is a guard. They could always do a shuffle on the offensive line though that includes Zion Johnson. The rookie out of Boston College has experience playing left tackle, as he had 704 snaps there during the 2020 season, where he only allowed two sacks and a total of six hits. If they were to slide Johnson to left tackle, they could bring in Spain to fill in at the right guard spot. Spain saw playing time at right guard during the 2020 season, where he had 428 snaps at that spot. He was shuffled around a lot, playing both left and right guard, as well as 65 snaps at right tackle, and still only allowed one sack. As a player on the 2021 Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line, he gets a bit of a bad rap, yet he still had a fairly decent season and got the job done. He plays with a finishing mentality, giving his all on every play to make sure he either protects the quarterback or clears running lanes. A shuffle on the line may not sound ideal, but if there were to be one, Spain would fit nicely.