EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers begin training camp on Thursday, July 17th, at 10 am, with players set to arrive at The Bolt by 5 pm the day before.
There are several questions surrounding camp battles and roster spots, but this is more about the outside stuff. Will the 89 players show up? Could there be more than one holdout?
Head coach Jim Harbaugh will have his work cut out for him when camp starts on Thursday.
Well, here are the three biggest questions:
1. Will Rashawn Slater sign a new deal or not show up?
At the end of minicamp, the Chargers left tackle spoke about how confident he was about getting a deal done with the team. A month later, with camp on the horizon, no agreement has been made—yet.
There are three avenues for Slater if a deal isn’t done by Thursday.
One: He can show up on Wednesday at 5 pm to The Bolt and participate in camp until it’s done.
Two: He shows up, but it’s a camp hold, and he doesn’t participate in anything until the deal is done.
Three: He doesn’t show up until he signs a new deal.
“I don’t want to miss any time,” Slater said last month. “I love being here.”
The Chargers need Slater in camp. Plain and simple.
The offensive line has some questions, but the only two sure players on it are Slater and right tackle Joe Alt. They are the anchors.
All eyes will be on number 70 on Wednesday afternoon.
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Jim Harbaugh of the Los Angeles Chargers talks with members of the media before mandatory minicamp at The Bolt on June 12, 2025 in El Segundo, California.
2. What condition will Najee Harris show up in?
There were several rumors on X that the Chargers’ running back had sustained an injury during a July 4th fireworks incident, similar to the Jason Pierre-Paul incident.
On July 10th, Doug Hendrickson, Harris’ agent, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Harris had sustained a “superficial” injury but he should be ready for the start of the season.
The biggest question is if he will be able to participate in training camp. Additionally, there are any after-effects, and whether he will be able to return to the same player he was in Pittsburgh.
The Chargers offense is counting on the running back combo of Harris and rookie Omarion Hampton to be a driving force to the offense this season.
Harris has never missed an NFL game, so if he continues that trend and is not affected by the incident, Harbaugh will be a happy camper.
Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune
Tre Harris #9 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs a route during the Los Angeles Chargers offseason workouts at The Bolt on May 12, 2025 in El Segundo, California.
3. How long will Tre Harris be out?
There was a holdout before camp even started, and it was rookie receiver Tre Harris who didn’t show up at the facility on Saturday afternoon.
Harris is one of 30 second-round second-round picks who have yet to sign their deals because they saw what the Browns and Texans did for their two second-round second-round picks.
Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Texans receiver Jayden Higgins both received guaranteed deals from their teams. This is the second time in the last few years that the Browns have upset the rest of the teams.
The Chargers are hopeful that Harris becomes for them what Ladd McConkey was for them last season. Obviously, Harbaugh doesn’t want that pressure on him or Hampton. He doesn’t want either to think they need to have a rookie year like Alt and McConkey had for the team last season.
The Ole Miss product was a big-time weapon for quarterback Jaxson Dart when they played together in college. The fact that 30 second-round draft picks remain unsigned will make this standoff more interesting.
The Chargers haven’t had a rookie holdout since defensive end Joey Bosa in 2016, when his contract was fully guaranteed.