Loss of Slater poses challenge for Chargers' line

When their left tackle went down for season, the coaches had to get creative to fill holes.

- BY SAM FARMER

KYUSUNG GONG Associated Press RASHAWN SLATER, the Chargers' high-priced left tackle, had season-ending knee surgery after tearing his left patellar tendon July 27.

The Chargers were blindsided in the truest sense.

Eleven days after signing a contract extension that made him the NFL's highest-paid offensive lineman in history, Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater went down in training camp with a knee injury that ended his 2025 season.

It was the latest crushing blow to a franchise with a withering track record of losing key players at the most inopportune times.

"It's like a gut punch to the solar plexus," coach Jim Harbaugh said in the aftermath of the July 27 injury. "Takes the wind out of you."

This is where coaching and creativity kick in. It’s musical chairs along the offensive line as the Chargers scramble to protect the blindside of franchise quarterback Justin Herbert without handcuffing their offense by committing too many resources to doing so.

The challenge is profound but not unique. Teams have navigated these choppy waters before.

"The basis of your pass [protection] basically is, you pay a ton of money to somebody that’s just going to lock down that end, the blindside," retired NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "The blindside. They made a whole movie about it. That’s where you spend your money."

When quarterback Rich Gannon was preparing for an opponent, the first offensive meeting of the week was about protections. How are we going to block these guys?