The Chargers made a number of IR-related moves ahead of their Week 6 contest. The team placed running back Gus Edwards and cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. on injured reserve while activating linebacker Nick Niemann. 

As a result, both Edwards and Samuel will be shut down for at least four games. The former has been dealing with an ankle injury which kept him out of practice coming out of Los Angeles’ bye week. His absence will leave a vacancy in the Bolts’ backfield, one which has a Ravens background given the presence of J.K. Dobbins along with offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Roman – not to mention head coach Jim Harbaugh – has a reputation for leaning heavily on the ground game, so expectations pointed to a heavy workload for Edwards when he signed in free agency this spring. The former UDFA spent each of his first six years in the league with Baltimore, proving to be effective when healthy. Edwards missed the 2021 campaign due to an ACL tear, but upon return he remained efficient the following year. Last season, the 29-year-old set career highs in rushing yards (810) and touchdowns (13). His absence will lead to a larger workload for Dobbins moving forward.

Samuel is dealing with a shoulder injury. He managed to practice on two occasions this week, but that was not the case yesterday and this IR stint will give him a long runway to recover in full. The former second-rounder has been a full-time starter throughout his career, which began in 2021. Samuel was limited to 12 games as a rookie, but he played a full season each of the following two years. Missed time as a pending free agent is of course an unwanted circumstance for team and player.

The Florida State product won out a training camp competition for the slot corner job last year, but he wound up primarily playing on the outside. That has been the case throughout Samuel’s tenure, and in both the 2022 and ’23 campaigns he earned a top-30 PFF grade amongst qualifying corners. His performance this year has not been viewed as highly, but overall the Chargers rank ninth against the pass. Remaining strong in that category will require compensating for Samuel’s absence.

Niemann, like many other players around the league, was designated for return from IR ahead of the cutdown deadline in August. That allowed the Chargers to avoid naming him to their initial 53-man roster, though it did use one of the team’s eight IR activations. After missing the requisite four games, Niemann – a key special teams presence in his first three Los Angeles campaigns – will be able to make his season debut tomorrow.