Jim Harbaugh said the Chargers will give their starters one drive against the 49ers and multiple drives in the final preseason game against the Rams, a limited dress rehearsal that puts the starting offense on a short runway before the regular season.
The plan matters because Harbaugh said the coaching staff wants to see at least three drives of the starting offensive line together with Justin Herbert. That is the clearest sign yet that the Chargers are trying to get the group synced before the games count, even if they do it in pieces.
Rashawn Slater is the reason the picture is still unsettled. He missed practice on August 8 after his knee flared up in San Diego on August 4, then missed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Saturday as Harbaugh announced at the podium that the absence would run to five straight practices. Slater said on Tuesday that he did not know when he would return to practice.
Harbaugh had first framed the absence as veteran rest, but the stretch of missed work quickly made that explanation harder to hold onto. Earlier this week, he said the injury was a muscle issue unrelated to the patellar tendon repair, and he said the team would be cautious after the scare in San Diego. That leaves the Chargers trying to balance two things at once: protect Slater and still get the line enough live work to matter.
Tarheeb Still was expected back after missing recent practices, but he did not end up working, another reminder that camp is still being managed in small pieces rather than full-speed reps. For Slater, the next checkpoint is simple and unresolved: return to practice in time to take part in the starter work Harbaugh wants, or keep watching the preseason pass by while the Chargers wait for a clearer answer.
