With defensive lineman Justin Jones dealing with a calf injury, the Chargers promoted Joe Gaziano to the 53-man roster ahead of the Week 2 matchup against the Cowboys.
On the final injury report, Jones was listed as doubtful.
Gaziano, an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern, appeared in two games last season. After his rookie season, he was a standout during training camp and preseason action.
After playing as an edge defender in 2020, the move inside highlighted his strengths. Winning with heavy hands, strength and high effort, Gaziano applied interior pressure and made plays in the run game on multiple occasions.
If Jones is out, Christian Covington and Eric Banks will likely see an uptick in snaps, while Linval Joseph and Jerry Tillery receive a bulk of the workload, as their presences will be critical to slowing Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard.
