Injuries to Bosa, Gilman, could pose challenges for defensive depth of Chargers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Jesse Minter has made one thing clear in his first season as the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator — the more players that can get snaps, the better it will be for his unit.

Injuries to two key starters could test Minter’s depth heading into the Chargers' game Sunday at Carolina.

Linebacker Joey Bosa and safety Alohi Gilman did not practice on Thursday. Bosa was limited due to a back issue on Wednesday, while Gilman hasn’t practiced this week due to a knee injury.

Bosa tied for the team lead with seven tackles, including a sack and forced fumble in last week’s opener against the Las Vegas Raiders. Gilman was in for all but one of the Chargers’ 60 defensive plays and had four tackles.

Bosa and Khalil Mack had 2 1/2 of the Bolts four sacks of the Raiders' Gardner Minshew.

“They drive the engine of our defense. The way they play, the physicality. Those guys keep doing it. I think they have a lot of fun out there,” Minter said.

The Chargers had 16 defensive players in for at least 20 snaps last Sunday in a 22-10 win over Las Vegas. Going into the second game, Minter would like to get at least 19 players up to at least 16 snaps.

“When we have multiple good players at a position, to me, they all need to play,” Minter said. “We were fresh when we needed to be able to close out the game, so that’s how we want to kind of play this game for a while.”

Three players rotated a middle linebacker. Denzel Perryman, Daiyan Henley and Junior Colson each alternated series where they had the helmet where they got plays from Minter and then called them in the huddle.

“I didn’t remember half the time who I was talking to," Minter said. "They did a great job, we were really not able to have any communication issues. Kudos to those guys and how they played as well.”

It was the first time Henley and Colson had had the green dot helmet. Henley, who saw 41 snaps on Sunday, saw only 51 on defense as a rookie last season, while Colson is a rookie.

Mack said he was joking with Colson last week because he said a couple of things differently in the huddle compared to Perryman and Henley, but he thought Colson held his own.

Minter is also looking for opportunities to take advantage of the depth at edge rusher. That happened for three plays against the Raiders when Bosa, Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree were on the field at the same time.

Depending on Bosa’s status, Mack hopes to see that used more often.

“It was cool, but they threw a screen. It will be fun to get a pass rush out of that,” Mack said. “It speaks to the creativeness of the coaches. They are going to get the best out of every guy.”

Defensive end Morgan Fox, who was also on the field when all four edge rushers were playing, also lauded Minter’s creativity.

“When everyone’s eating and playing well, you’re a hard team to stop,” Fox said. “We are fortunate to have a ton of weapons and hopefully put our opponents in a bad position is a nice tool to have.”

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Las Vegas Raiders running back Alexander Mattison (22) runs against Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley (0) and safety Alohi Gilman (32) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa (97) is congratulated by defensive end Morgan Fox (56) after sacking Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

DETROIT (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated false claims that Chinese automakers are putting up large factories in Mexico, vowing during a stop in the automaking state of Michigan to slap 200% tariffs on any vehicles the unbuilt plants make and ship to the United States.

Trump also claimed during an event in Flint that if Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is elected in November, there will be no more auto industry in the U.S., because work building electric vehicles will go to China.

That statement came even though automaking employment has grown since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, after dropping during Trump's first term.

“If I don't win, you will have no auto industry within two to three years," Trump said, calling any increases under Biden and Harris temporary. “You will not have any manufacturing plants. China is going to take over all of them because of the electric car.”

He told the crowd he would make foreign automakers build factories in the U.S. by imposing tariffs on imported autos, saying it “will be like taking candy from a baby.”

Foreign automakers already have multiple U.S. factories, mainly in southern states.

Auto jobs dipped 0.8% during Trump's term to just over 949,000 in January 2021, when he left office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since Biden took office that month, auto and parts jobs rose 13.6% to 1.07 million in August, so there's no evidence of the industry disappearing. Auto sales were up 2.4% in the first half of this year.

Trump said his tariffs would make Chinese vehicles built in Mexico unsellable in the U.S., forcing automakers from China and elsewhere to set up factories in the U.S.

“They’re owned and built by China in Mexico, and there are a number of them going up right now,” Trump said of Chinese factories.

Although some Chinese automakers aspire to sell in the U.S., industry analysts say there are no large Chinese-owned auto factories under construction in Mexico, and there's only one small Chinese auto assembly factory operating there. It’s run by a company called JAC that builds inexpensive vehicles from kits for sale in that country.

Trump also promised to charge tariffs on vehicles made in other countries if those countries tax U.S.-made vehicles. But often tariffs end up being passed on to consumers in the country that assesses them.

The Harris campaign issued a statement from Michigan Sen. Gary Peters saying that a second Trump term would crush auto jobs, “ceding Michigan's global auto manufacturing leadership to the Chinese government.” He said Harris has a plan to bring good-paying manufacturing jobs home "and ensure Michigan workers continue to lead the world in auto manufacturing.”

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a town hall event at the Dort Financial Center, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Flint, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a town hall event at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)