Chargers DT Corey Liuget out for the season

After going down with what looked like a painful knee injury during the second quarter, Corey Liuget was somewhat forgotten about as the game played out in typical Chargers fashion, with the Chargers managing to beat all the odds in losing to the Denver Broncos, 23-22. The only thing more quintessentially Chargers than blowing a game like that is to have a season ending injury - and don’t worry, because there’s some of that, too!

This is a bigger blow for the Chargers than it would have seemed in the past, as Liuget had been enjoying a productive spell since returning from a four game suspension. With Denzel Perryman already missing for the year, Liuget’s injury leaves the run defense hanging by a thread. This likely means more Darius Philon, which isn’t a bad thing, but it will also mean more Damion Square inside. Square is a solid DE, but struggled heavily playing inside earlier this season before the Chargers kicked him to the edge. Third round pick Justin Jones was a healthy scratch today, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be seeing meaningful action anytime soon.

Liuget is still under contract for another year, but the Chargers would save $8m in cap space by cutting him in the offseason, and even the most fervent Liuget fan couldn’t argue that he offers that much value to the team. Unless Liuget and the Chargers can work out a restructuring of his contract, today was probably the last time you’ll see Corey Liuget in a Chargers uniform.