Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater spent most of last season watching from afar while rehabbing. He ruptured a biceps tendon during a Week 3 loss to the Jaguars and missed the rest of the season.
“I feel like the biggest thing I learned from that is how easily it can be taken away from you,” Slater said in video from the team. “You only get so much time as it is in the NFL. If you get something like that, it’s already taken a year off of a relatively short career. So really just feel a lot of urgency to get to where I want to be.”
The Chargers designated Slater to return from injured reserve following the regular season, and he practiced in anticipation of playing in the divisional round. The Chargers, though, lost to the Jaguars in the wild card round.
Slater continued his rehab and offseason work under private offensive line coach Duke Manyweather in Dallas. He said in the last couple of months he has gotten “pretty pain-free and as strong as I used to be.”
“It’s great,” Slater said. “I would say it’s been 100 percent for awhile now, so at this point, it’s just, the more reps I get, the more confident I’ll feel. But it feels great.”
Slater did not miss a snap in his rookie season of 2021, and he had played every snap in the first two games of 2022.
“I’m so excited to be back,” he said.
The Chargers are just as excited to have him back. The 13th overall pick earned Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors his first season.
