{"id":276494,"date":"2025-08-10T08:54:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T08:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/276494\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T08:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T08:54:15","slug":"chargers-confirm-torn-patellar-tendon-for-lt-rashawn-slater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/276494\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers Confirm Torn Patellar Tendon For LT Rashawn Slater"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUGUST 8: Harbaugh confirmed (via ESPN\u2019s Kris Rhim<\/a>) that Alt will replace Slater on the blind side with Pipkins taking over at right tackle. The Chargers are also planning to work out some offensive linemen this weekend to find another swing tackle. They\u2019ll also get a chance to evaluate Salyer, who is starting Sunday\u2019s preseason game at left tackle, according to The Athletic\u2019s Daniel Popper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AUGUST 7: Rashawn Slater<\/a>\u00a0was carted off the field during Thursday\u2019s practice. Hours later, the worst-case scenario emerged. Testing on the Chargers\u2019 franchise left tackle indicates he will not play in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Slater is feared to have suffered a torn patellar tendon, Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report<\/a>. The team has since confirmed<\/a> Slater suffered the tear. This is a brutal blow for Slater and the Chargers, who indicated the Pro Bowl tackle is heading to IR.<\/p>\n

This also represents incredible timing for Slater regarding his extension. The Pro Bowl blocker established the new AAV standard for offensive linemen<\/a> ($28.5MM), agreeing to terms before training camp. The Chargers paid Slater after he had solidified their LT position, a job that had seen turnover between King Dunlap<\/a>\u2018s tenure and the Tom Telesco regime drafting Slater in the 2021 first round. Slater will still be expected to live up to the contract, but that effort is now delayed.<\/p>\n

The Bolts gave Slater a four-year, $114MM extension that came with $56MM guaranteed at signing. Among left tackles, only Andrew Thomas<\/a> \u2014 on a five-year Giants deal \u2014 bettered the at-signing figure. Slater managed to beat out tackles with better rookie-contract resumes, benefiting by the Chargers waiting until his fifth NFL offseason to pay him. Now, major questions emerge regarding the Bolts\u2019 2025 O-line.<\/p>\n

Joe Alt<\/a> played left tackle at Notre Dame; the Chargers moved the 2024 No. 5 overall pick to the right side due to Slater\u2019s presence. After another full offseason of RT training, Alt sliding to the blind side would be a gamble for the Bolts. But that would be an option due to his dominance there with the Fighting Irish. The Chargers also moved Trey Pipkins<\/a> from right tackle to guard to accommodate<\/a> Alt\u2019s 2024 arrival. Pipkins had re-signed to play right tackle. Jim Harbaugh announced earlier this week a starting five that did not included Pipkins. This could be a way back for the supplanted blocker, as ESPN.com\u2019s Kris Rhim indicates<\/a> an Alt-at-LT, Pipkins-to-RT plan is the most likely outcome following the Slater news.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Harbaugh said (via The Athletic\u2019s Daniel Popper<\/a>) the Chargers had decided on a Slater-Zion Johnson<\/a>\u2013Bradley Bozeman<\/a>\u2013Mekhi Becton<\/a>-Alt front five. Slater, Becton and Alt were entrenched starters, while Johnson and Bozeman entered camp with positional uncertainty. Pipkins (56 career starts, most coming at right tackle) gives the Chargers options most teams do not have when they lose a player of Slater\u2019s caliber. Alt moving over makes more sense, as Pipkins has not played more than 77 LT snaps in a season since his rookie year.<\/p>\n

A 2019 third-round pick, Pipkins worked as the Bolts\u2019 full-time RT starter from 2022-23. The Chargers passed on Malik Nabers<\/a> at No. 5 last year to install Alt at RT, kicking Pipkins inside. The transition was not exactly successful, as Becton has since booted Pipkins from the starting lineup. Pro Football Focus graded Pipkins outside the top 60 at guard last season; the advanced metrics site did not grade him higher than 50th during his time as the Chargers\u2019 top RT.<\/p>\n

Teams certainly never have great options when losing a Slater-like presence. Alt was a two-time All-American left tackle at Notre Dame, honors that propelled him into the top five of last year\u2019s draft. The three-year, $21.75MM deal Pipkins signed in 2023<\/a> \u2014 Telesco\u2019s final offseason in charge \u2014 could represent a lifeline for both the Chargers and the contract-year blocker. Pipkins, 29, is also not the only possible contingency plan here.<\/p>\n

Slater had bounced back from a three-game 2022, when he was shut down because of a biceps tendon tear. The Northwestern product played in 32 games over the past two seasons, missing one in 2024 due to a pectoral injury. The 2022 season also revealed another potential Bolts option, as Jamaree Salyer<\/a> replaced Slater at left tackle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A 2022 sixth-round pick out of Georgia, Salyer slid to guard in 2023<\/a> but was unable to keep a first-string job following the Alt move last year. Salyer worked as the Bulldogs\u2019 starting left tackle from 2020-21. While Salyer made only four starts last season, he joins Pipkins as possible contingency plans for a Chargers team that has devoted considerable resources to its O-line.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the team\u2019s top piece is out of the picture. PFF graded Slater as the NFL\u2019s second-best tackle last season. The standout missed offseason time while angling for a new deal, and the fifth-year tackle going down soon after signing it stands to significantly affect a Bolts team that doubled down at running back \u2014 via the Najee Harris<\/a> signing and Omarion Hampton<\/a> first-round investment \u2014 this offseason.<\/p>\n

This Chargers offseason brought depth up front<\/a>. Pipkins and Salyer join four-year Raiders center starter Andre James<\/a> in representing the Bolts\u2019 newfound depth. It would stand to reason the Chargers will call on Pipkins or Salyer to move into the lineup following this injury, and it will be interesting to see if Alt indeed makes the switch back to his college role for this season.<\/p>\n

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUGUST 8: Harbaugh confirmed (via ESPN\u2019s Kris Rhim) that Alt will replace Slater on the blind side with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[10731,241,7,464,5661,1014,262,2444,2443,8730,6,1526,8401,8402],"class_list":{"0":"post-276494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-bradley-bozeman","9":"tag-chargers","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-jamaree-salyer","12":"tag-joe-alt","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleschargers","17":"tag-newsstand","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-rashawn-slater","20":"tag-trey-pipkins","21":"tag-zion-johnson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}