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The San Diego Chargers will start the season short-handed at linebacker, a unit that generally is looked at as a team strength.

In addition to a less than full strength Shawne Merriman, who decided that he will play despite four doctors telling him he needs surgery to reconstruct two torn ligaments, the team will miss Stephen Cooper, who will serve a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s banned stimulants policy.

The Chargers do have some depth. Derek Smith, a 12-year veteran, will step in for Cooper, who has said he ingested a banned substance through a nutritional supplement, according to the North County Times.

San Diego also catches a break, catching Carolina and the New York Jets at home while traveling to Denver and Oakland during the first month of the season. The Chargers should emerge from that quartet of games no worse than 2-2 and probably 3-1 or undefeated. But these losses make that fast start a tougher one to get.