The Chargers’ star left tackle was not in attendance for the first day of OTAs as he seeks a new contract.
The biggest headlines surrounding Tuesday’s group of 20 teams beginning their OTA sessions centered around the biggest names who were not in attendance with their teammates. Of course players not attending is to be expected when the practices are voluntary, but normally good, cohesive teams will get their guys in the building unless there’s something understandably keeping them away, like a wait for a new and deserved contract.
That’s likely the case with Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater who was not at The Bolt on Tuesday to behind Phase Three of the NFL’s offseason program. Slater is currently entering the final year of his contract and it’s likely due to wanting to secure a new long-term deal with the team before getting back on the field for team-related activities. For what it’s worth, this is the first time Slater has missed an OTA since being drafted in the first round back in 2021.
Per Pro Football Talk, contract discussions have been underway, but it seems things aren’t progressing at the necessary speed to get Slater in the building. Slater is set to make $19.04 million this season under the terms of his current deal. That would be good for sixth-most among left tackles, right behind Bills tackle Dion Dawkins ($19.979 million).
The Chargers will begin their mandatory minicamp on June 10. If Slater continues to miss time with the team, he’d become subject to fines. I have a feeling the front office would do what necessary to get a deal done before then, but you simply never know with a fairly new front office who has done nothing but show their commitment to building a team that doesn’t only win, but is also financially healthy. This would be the biggest deal given out since Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz took over the team and that leads me to believe it may take longer than you’d may expect, even with Slater being as big of a “must-sign” player as there is on the roster outside of Justin Herbert.