Chargers put KeAndre Lambert-Smith on IR, sign Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The Chargers' receiver room took a hit in the Week 1 loss to the Cardinals, and now it's showing on the transaction wire. KeAndre Lambert-Smith went down with a hamstring injury late in that game and didn't return, and head coach Jim Harbaugh wasn't exactly optimistic afterward, saying he hadn't decided on IR yet but that "it looks like he's going to miss some time." That decision got made fast.

Adam Schefter

@AdamSchefter

Chargers placed WR Keandre Lambert-Smith on injured reserve and signed WR Gary Jennings.

Lambert-Smith wasn't a featured piece of the offense — he sat behind Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Tre' Harris on the depth chart entering the year — but losing any healthy body at receiver stings when your WR2 in that same game, McConkey, also banged up his ribs. The Chargers didn't have room to just eat the loss and moved immediately to fill it.

The corresponding move was signing Gary Jennings off the practice squad to fill the WR spot on the 53, plus adding defensive back Isa Waxter to the practice squad to keep the pipeline stocked underneath. That's a lot of transaction paperwork for a Tuesday over one hamstring — but it's also just how thin the margins are at receiver 1 week into the season.

Then, hours later, the bigger name landed: Marquez Valdes-Scantling is joining the Chargers' practice squad, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. It's the ninth NFL team of Valdes-Scantling's career, a run that's taken him from Green Bay to Kansas City to Buffalo, New Orleans, Seattle, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Dallas before this stop — a resume that says more about his ability to stick on rosters than any single team's plan for him.

Jeremy Fowler

@JFowlerESPN

Source: Chargers are signing veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the practice squad. Valdes-Scantling joins his ninth NFL team.

None of this fixes the Chargers' receiver room overnight — a practice-squad signing isn't walking into a Week 2 game plan on 4 days' notice. But it's an insurance policy for a group that just lost depth and can't afford to lose more with McConkey's ribs still a question mark. Watch the practice squad elevations the next few weeks; that's where you'll see whether Valdes-Scantling or Jennings actually cracks the gameday roster.