Safety Elijah Molden has quickly fit in with the Chargers defense

rgers acquired Elijah Molden because of his versatility in the secondary. What they've also discovered is that he's a quick study.

After having only seven practices with the Chargers, Molden started at safety in last Sunday's 26-3 win over the Carolina Panthers. Not only did Molden have an interception, he was the only player on defense to be in for all 48 snaps.

“He's a great football player, instinctual and a great mind,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter told reporters in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday as the Chargers continued preparations for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. “It's a major shout out to him.”

Molden was a third-round pick by Tennessee in 2021 and started 16 of 33 games with the Titans. He played cornerback at the University of Washington and during his rookie season with the Titans. He missed most of the 2022 season due to a groin injury before moving to safety in 2023.

The Chargers got Molden for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick on Aug. 28. He arrived in Southern California the next day for a physical and to meet the coaching staff, but didn't have his first practice until Sept. 2.

With Alohi Gilman sidelined last week due to a knee injury, Molden stepped into a starting spot and showed the front office was adept in acquiring the fourth-year player.

“I wanted to be on a team where I felt valued. I kind of knew that my best ball was ahead of me and the Chargers believed in me too,” Molden said.

Gilman and Derwin James also helped get Molden up to speed with the playbook along with defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, safeties coach Chris O'Leary and defensive quality control assistant Robert Muschamp.

What has also helped Molden is that there were a lot of similarities between Minter's defensive scheme and the Titans' scheme.

“I kind of knew the big picture, I just needed to figure out the details,” Molden said. “Initially I thought it was all the same, but coach Minter has his own way of teaching techniques, the fundamentals and stuff. So it definitely took a couple of days of memorization along with getting used to the different terminologies.”

Molden' second-quarter interception came when he read Bryce Young was going to target Carolina receiver Diontae Johnson on an in route. Molden got a couple steps in front of Johnson and was able to pick it off for his third career interception.

Molden isn't the only August signing who is contributing for the Chargers. Linebacker Shaquille Quarterman and defensive lineman Teair Tart have also seen action the first two games.

During training camp and the preseason, first-year general manager Joe Hortiz signed nine players, traded for two and made a waiver claim as he looked to form the best 53-man roster.

“Every guy that’s been added to the team has been value added in a big way. The efforts of the personnel department have been A-plus-plus so far,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.

Gilman returned to practice this week and could return to the starting lineup to face the Steelers. Molden would move back down to the third safety spot, but still would see plenty of snaps.

Minter has made it a point during the first two games to rotate as many players as possible. Twenty one saw action against the Panthers with 17 playing at least 12 snaps.

The Chargers have allowed a league-low 13 points in wins against the Raiders and Panthers. Last week the Bolts defense didn't allow a completion over 10 air yards.

The matchup against the Steelers could play to the Chargers early strengths. Steelers quarterback Justin Fields has targeted passes outside the numbers a league-high 70%. Los Angeles is allowing a league-low 3.2 air yards per pass attempt on throws targeted outside the numbers.

“The way everyone is practicing right now allows them to play the game with a free mind because they're able to take some of the things from the film study and practice and anticipate plays that are coming without guessing. That's a big difference,” Minter said.

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Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen is tackled by Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Elijah Molden and safety Derwin James Jr. during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders is tackled by Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Ja'Sir Taylor and cornerback Elijah Molden during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn't specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.

From the military's description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

It wasn't immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.

However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.

Since the Truman's arrival, the U.S. has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.

On Saturday night and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the capital of Yemen that the Houthis have held since 2014. Central Command described the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility,” without elaborating.

Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without offering any casualty or damage information. In Sanaa, strikes appeared particularly targeted at a mountainside known to be home to military installations. The Houthis later acknowledged the aircraft being shot down in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.

The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) steams in the Mediterranean Sea, Dec. 15, 2025. (Kaitlin Young/U.S. Navy via AP)

FILE - Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

FILE - A fighter jet maneuvers on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)