Report: Los Angeles Chargers to sign OL David Sharpe after Rashawn Slater injury

The Los Angeles Chargers are set to sign offensive lineman David Sharpe, according to a report from CBS Sports. His signing comes after Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending injury.

Sharpe last played an NFL game in 2023 with the Carolina Panthers and spent the 2024 season with the Houston Texans and New York Jets practice squads. The former Florida star has bounced around the league since the Oakland Raiders selected him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

In addition to the Raiders, Sharpe has played for the Texans, Washington Football Team, Baltimore Ravens and Panthers. He’ll now get ready to join a Chargers team that lost one of the pillars of its offensive line to a devastating injury.

Slater was diagnosed a torn patellar tendon in practice Thursday, the franchise announced, and he will miss the 2025 season after undergoing surgery. He was carted off the field with a left leg injury this week, and teammates came up to hug him as he headed into the building. The injury came just after he signed a lucrative contract extension with the Chargers.

Slater was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft following a standout career at Northwestern. He was a third team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore in 2018 and became an anchor of the Wildcats’ offensive line. Through the early part of his NFL career, Slater has been to two Pro Bowls – including last year – and was a second team All-Pro selection in 2021.

Slater then became an even more important part of the Chargers offensive line after Jim Harbaugh took over as head coach last season. Harbaugh brought in Greg Roman as offensive coordinator, meaning Los Angeles would rely on the offensive line to help establish its run-first offense. In fact, when he was introduced last offseason, Harbaugh spoke about just how highly he thinks of offensive linemen when compared to other “weapons.”

“I know the questions are going to come up and you’re going to say, ‘Well, what about a weapon?’ Offensive linemen, we look at as weapons,” Harbaugh said, via ESPN’s Kris Rhim. “That group, when we talk about attacking on offense, [the] offensive line is the tip of the spear.”

Harbaugh is gearing up for his second season as the Chargers’ head coach following an impressive debut year in Los Angeles. The franchise went 11-6 to make the NFL playoffs, falling to the Houston Texans in the first round. That came after Harbaugh led Michigan to the mountaintop as his alma mater won the college football national championship in 2023.