Chargers' Alt to get season-ending ankle surgery

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Chargers left tackle Joe Alt will undergo season-ending ankle surgery, for the high right ankle injury he sustained in the Chargers' win over the Tennessee Titans, according to a team spokesperson.

The injury came in the second quarter, when Titans defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day fell into Alt's right ankle.

It's the second high ankle injury Alt has had this season. He exited the first quarter of the team's Week 4 loss to the New York Giants on a medical cart and missed the next three games with a high ankle sprain.

"I feel bad for Joe," coach Jim Harbaugh said, "but I know it's going to be OK."

Throughout the offseason, the Chargers boasted about having the league's best tackle duo -- with Alt and Pro Bowl tackle Rashawn Slater. Now the Chargers will have to play this season without both, and the injuries to the offensive line don't stop there.

Slater suffered a season-ending patellar tendon rupture in his left knee in training camp. Right guard Mekhi Becton, the team's top free agent offseason signing, has been in and out of the lineup with injuries throughout the year and missed Sunday's win with a knee injury.

Right tackle Bobby Hart also got injured Sunday, leaving the game in the first quarter after Titans outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones fell into his left knee. The team said that Hart has a groin and ankle injury. Harbaugh said he didn't think Hart would land on injured reserve.

With Alt and Hart out Sunday, the Chargers played Trey Pipkins III at right tackle and Jamaree Salyer at left, that could change depending on the availability of Hart and tackle Austin Deculus.

Without Alt, the Chargers have been a completely different team -- struggling to run the ball and with defenses constantly putting quarterback Justin Herbert under duress.

The Chargers are 4-0 this season when Alt plays the entire game and 2-3 when he doesn't. Herbert has a QBR of 80 with Alt on the field and a QBR of 56 without him. L.A.'s pass block win rate of 52.6% this season ranks 30th in the NFL, but without Alt, that number drops to a league-worst 48%, according to ESPN Analytics/NFL Next Gen Stats.

The injuries have plagued other positions too -- particularly at running back.

Veteran Najee Harris suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture against the Giants.

In Week 5, running back Omarion Hampton sustained an ankle injury that landed him on injured reserve. Harbaugh said Monday that he doesn't think Hampton's practice window to return from IR will be opened until after the Week 12 bye. The team placed running back Hassan Haskins on injured reserve with a hamstring injury ahead of the Titans game.

So, against the Titans on Sunday, the Chargers played their fourth-, fifth- and sixth-string running backs, and they will likely do that at least until Hampton returns.

"It's adversity, and you just do the best you can and get better," Harbaugh said of overcoming the injuries. "Never give up. Those three key elements, and yeah, maybe a lesser team, a lesser man wouldn't find a way to do that, but that's what we do."