The Chargers lost right guard Oday Aboushi for the rest of the season after he suffered a torn left anterior cruciate ligament Sunday.
Coach Brandon Staley said the veteran will have surgery.
In Aboushi’s absence, Michael Schofield III will move into the starting lineup. Schofield replaced Aboushi in the first quarter against Cleveland and finished the game.
Rookie Brenden Jaimes will serve as the backup guard. Staley suggested the Chargers also could look “elsewhere” for help.
Aboushi, 30, signed as a free agent in March and started the first five games on the Chargers’ rebuilt front. He played every offensive snap this season before being injured.
Jaimes was a fifth-round pick from Nebraska. He was on the game-day roster to open the season but was recently replaced by Schofield after the Chargers signed the veteran in mid-September.
Staley spoke highly of Jaimes on Monday but said he needs more time to develop.
Staley said Schofield, who’s in his seventh season, is more valuable right now given the inexperience — rookie Rashawn Slater and Storm Norton (seven NFL starts) — the Chargers have at tackle.
“It’s not an ability issue right now for us,” Staley said of Jaimes. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, this guy’s not capable of playing in the NFL right now’ because that’s not the case. We just want to make sure that he’s ready full time.”