The Los Angeles Chargers have continued to win in the face of several injuries on both sides of the ball. One of the bitter pills to come out of their recent games is continued attrition in the secondary. They lost cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. early in the season, and cornerbacks Eli Apple and Alohi Gilman hit the injured reserve early in December. The latest injury is to Elijah Molden, who missed Thursday night’s win over the Denver Broncos with a knee injury.
These injuries meant the Chargers relied heavily on veteran Tony Jefferson and a patchwork of other defensive backs to cover the back end — a knock-on effect of this was a limited role for the defensive Swiss army knife, Derwin James. James was forced to play as a free safety rather than at slot corner, where he has spent a good amount of his playing time this season.
Chargers Add Safety, Eddie Jackson
In response, the Chargers added former All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson, who was last with the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson, after playing a significant amount of snaps, was waived by the Ravens at the end of November. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. In 2018 he was named to the first team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl. He was cut by the Bears after the 2023 season.
With his addition, the Chargers now have only Jefferson and Marcus Maye on the active roster at safety with Kendall Williamson (Who played the first snaps of his career against the Broncos.) and Emany Johnson on the practice squad. Cam Hart also missed the Broncos game with a concussion.
The Chargers have not given an update on the injury status of Molden, who has been a standout, earning a starting role early in the season. Whether or not his injury is more serious than missing a single game, additions at the position was needed.