EL SEGUNDO — Left tackle Rashawn Slater raised up from his stance and backed up a step or two to begin pass blocking during a Chargers’ drill Thursday. In a nanosecond, he hit the ground with a thud, in obvious distress. Athletic trainers ran to his aid while teammates watched from a distance, in obvious concern.
A cart arrived in a matter of moments and Slater was taken from the field to the training room with an apparent left leg injury. Before the trip was complete, he tossed his helmet and slammed his fist on the cart in frustration. He needed further assistance to get from the cart inside the training facility.
It appeared that Slater could not put any weight on his left leg.
The extent of his injury was not immediately known, however.
NFL teams are not required to give injury reports until Week 1 of the season.
It was expected that Slater would undergo a battery of tests.
“Yeah, man, I didn’t really see nothing,” said outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu, who could be seen rushing Slater and then spinning away as Slater collapsed onto the turf in a video clip taken by a fan from the stands and posted to X (formerly Twitter). “I just kind of turned around and then, boom.”
Slater, 26, is recognized as one of the four pillars of the Chargers along with quarterback Justin Herbert, outside linebacker Khalil Mack and safety Derwin James Jr. He signed a four-year, $114-million contract on July 27, making him the highest-paid left tackle in the NFL by average annual salary.
Of his contract extension, Slater said on July 28, “It feels amazing.”
“Honestly, just super thankful for the organization believing in me, drafting me five years ago now and now getting a chance to do an extension,” he added. “It means a lot for me and my family. But it doesn’t change anything. I’m going to wake up and give it my all every day. I’m just super thankful to be here.”
Any prolonged absence of Slater, a two-time Pro Bowl selection in his first four seasons, would prove to be difficult for the Chargers to overcome. Joe Alt shifted from right tackle to left tackle and Trey Pipkins III slotted into Alt’s position at right tackle for the remainder of Thursday’s practice.
The Chargers have been without right guard Mekhi Becton since July 28 because of what was described by Coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman as a relatively minor injury. In fact, Roman said it was “extremely minor,” but neither he nor Harbaugh elaborated.
Backup lineman Jamaree Salyer has taken over for Becton during his absence.
Neither Harbaugh nor Roman was available to speak to reporters Thursday to discuss Slater’s injury, so it was left up to Tuipulotu and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to talk about the impact Slater’s injury might have on the Chargers’ offensive line in the days or, possibly, weeks to come.
“We’re praying for him, we hope he’s doing well,” Tuipulotu said. “We wish him the best. That’s just something you don’t want to see, you know? Not only Rashawn, but any of our players being carted off or anybody down. We don’t want them going into the training room. We’re supporting everybody.”
Minter also said he didn’t see what happened to Slater and declined to speculate on what might have happened or how long Slater might be sidelined. Minter then praised Slater from the standpoint of having pass rushers like Tuipulotu and Mack go against him every day in practice.
“Rashawn’s a great player,” Minter said. “He’s an All-Pro caliber player.”