The Los Angeles Chargers released Marquez Valdes-Scantling on Saturday, making a change at wide receiver one day before their road game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The team announced that KeAndre Lambert-Smith was activated from injured reserve, with Valdes-Scantling released in the corresponding move.
The transaction gives Justin Herbert another returning receiver as Los Angeles tries to earn its first victory of the season.
Valdes-Scantling’s departure follows a week in which his availability had appeared to improve. He was dealing with a rib injury but finished the practice week without a game designation.
Instead of facing his former team Sunday, the veteran is now off the Chargers’ active roster.
The move also comes as Los Angeles gets two prominent targets back into the picture, although its receiving corps remains short of full strength.
Chargers change receivers after injury-filled stretch
According to the Chargers’ final Week 6 injury report, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston have no game designations after dealing with foot and chest injuries, respectively. Both were full participants Friday.
Tre’ Harris has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, while Brenen Thompson is doubtful because of a quadriceps injury.
Lambert-Smith was listed as questionable with his own hamstring issue, despite progressing from limited practices Wednesday and Thursday to full participation Friday.
Saturday’s activation restores Lambert-Smith to the roster, but the transaction announcement does not specify a snap count or guarantee a particular workload.
His game-day availability and usage remain separate questions from the roster move itself.
That distinction matters for a unit that has needed replacements throughout the season. McConkey’s earlier availability concerns were part of the Chargers’ September injury picture, and the team has continued to adjust its personnel since then.
Valdes-Scantling was among the players asked to help. In an Oct. 16 preview published by the Chargers, Eric Smith detailed how thin the group had become during the previous game against Denver.
Johnston and Thompson were inactive, McConkey was available only as an emergency option and Harris left with a hamstring injury.
Valdes-Scantling, Theo Wease and Derius Davis were the remaining healthy receivers as Los Angeles tried to rally late.
Valdes-Scantling finished that game with two catches for 22 yards. His release therefore removes a player who had recently been part of the emergency solution, even as the Chargers welcome back alternatives.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith gives Los Angeles another option
The Chargers placed Lambert-Smith on injured reserve Sept. 15, adding Gary Jennings to the active roster at that time. His return reverses one of the absences that had forced Los Angeles to find help elsewhere.
Before Saturday’s activation, Jim Harbaugh highlighted the qualities Lambert-Smith could bring back to the offense.
“Brings juice. Speed,” Harbaugh said. “He was doing extremely well before he went out.”
Lambert-Smith also told the team site that he felt ready to return after working through his recovery. His previous visit to Arrowhead offered a relevant example of his connection with Herbert: He caught a 16-yard touchdown pass there last December.
The second-year receiver was a fifth-round selection in the 2025 draft. He has appeared in 11 games for the Chargers, including two starts, and finished his rookie season with five receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown.
His work has included special teams, too. Lambert-Smith returned 18 kickoffs for 418 yards as a rookie before leading Los Angeles with seven catches for 93 yards during the 2026 preseason.
Those numbers describe a developing player rather than an established high-volume target. His return adds an option, but it does not by itself establish how the Chargers will divide opportunities behind McConkey and Johnston.
Valdes-Scantling’s Chargers stint ends before Chiefs matchup
Los Angeles promoted Valdes-Scantling to its active roster Sept. 23, when tight end David Njoku went on injured reserve. Less than a month later, the team has used that roster position for another receiver.
The veteran arrived with a substantially longer NFL resume than Lambert-Smith. At the time of his promotion, the Chargers listed 219 career regular-season catches for 3,686 yards and 21 touchdowns across 116 games.
Those were his totals entering that stint, rather than an updated statistical line following Saturday’s release.
His experience included two Super Bowl championships with Kansas City. The Chargers also credited him with 27 catches for 432 yards and four touchdowns in 12 postseason appearances.
That background made Sunday’s opponent a familiar one for Valdes-Scantling. The transaction instead ends his current place on the roster before that meeting; the announcement does not identify his next destination.
Herbert’s offense still faces a difficult test
The Chargers enter the matchup at 0-5 against a 4-0 Kansas City team. Los Angeles ranks 30th in success rate at 41.3 percent and last in expected points added per play.
Receiver availability is only one part of that problem. Herbert has already taken 17 sacks, while Chargers offensive linemen Rashawn Slater, Tyler Biadasz and Trey Pipkins are on injured reserve.
Joe Alt and Kayode Awosika have also been ruled out for Sunday.
The Chargers have 13 giveaways on the season, including seven interceptions and six lost fumbles. Getting more receivers available can expand Herbert’s options, but protection and ball security remain central to whether those options produce sustained drives.
Los Angeles will face Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 1:25 p.m. PST. Lambert-Smith is back on the roster for that matchup, while Valdes-Scantling is the receiver making way.
