Chargers Announce Final Decisions on Tuli Tuipulotu, 5 Others Before Opener

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The Chargers announced final decisions on Tuli Tuipulotu and six other players before their season opener.

The Los Angeles Chargers lost their third Wild Card playoff game in the past four years last season, and have not won a playoff game since 2018. But Jim Harbaugh’s team will try to begin the process of changing all that when they face the Cardinals at home on Sunday to open the 2026 season.

But seven players will not be taking the field for the Chargers at SoFi Stadium for the 1:25 p.m. PDT game.

Even before Los Angeles posted its official inactive list for the Cardinals game, cornerback Deane Leonard is already locked out of Sunday’s opener.

The bigger story, however, centers around Tuli Tuipulotu, the Chargers’ leading pass rusher, and whether he plays through a hip injury in a game Los Angeles is favored to dominate.

When the Chargers released their inactive list for Week 1 just after noon PT, Tuipulotu was not on it — and that’s good news for the Chargers and their fans. But five other players were declared inactive for the game against Arizona.

Los Angeles Chargers’ Tuli Tuipulotu Injury Question

Leonard did not practice all week because of an abdominal injury and was handed an official Out designation, according to the Chargers’ official Week 1 report. He’s the team’s CB4 and top gunner on special teams — a real loss in coverage, but not a threat to a back end where Cam Hart, Donte Jackson, Tarheeb Still and Elijah Molden remain healthy.

Tuipulotu was limited in practice all three days and enters kickoff as the only Chargers player listed as “questionable” for Sunday’s game. He led Los Angeles with 13.0 sacks last season, which makes him close to irreplaceable on this defense. Jim Harbaugh hasn’t tipped his hand publicly on whether Tuipulotu plays, sits or lands on a snap count.

If he’s limited or out, the reps shift to Bud Dupree and rookie Akheem Mesidor opposite Khalil Mack, who is fully cleared and closing in on a milestone of his own — two tackles for loss shy of 150 for his career.

Arizona isn’t better off. The Cardinals have already ruled out right guard Isaiah Adams, cornerback Garrett Williams and safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love remains questionable, though he’s expected to make his NFL debut Sunday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Missing Adams alone gives Los Angeles another real edge up front.

Los Angeles Chargers Enter Cardinals Opener as Heavy Favorites

None of the depth pieces likely to round out a seven-man inactive list — a third quarterback, extra offensive linemen, reserve defensive backs — shift Sunday’s outlook the way Tuipulotu’s status could.

The betting market has already made up its mind. Los Angeles opens as a 9.5-point favorite at SoFi Stadium, with the moneyline near minus-515 and the total set at 47.5, and roughly 96 percent of moneyline bets have landed on the Chargers, according to FOX Sports.

The Bolts arrive on the back of consecutive 11-6 seasons under Harbaugh, now running a new offense under coordinator Mike McDaniel with Justin Herbert at the controls and both starting tackles, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, back after last year’s line troubles. Herbert went 2 of 3 for 74 yards and a touchdown in the preseason finale, a tiny sample that still turned heads inside the building.

McDaniel’s backfield plan already looks settled, too. Omarion Hampton projects as the early-down workhorse, with Keaton Mitchell fully cleared to work in as the change-of-pace piece who can turn a short catch or a jet sweep into real yardage. Neither back carries an injury designation into Sunday.