Rashawn Slater returns for Los Angeles Chargers, but not as full participant

In what was described by Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh as an "abundance of caution", Rashawn Slater left practice on Friday and was held out a couple of days. But he refused to discuss specifics .

Fortunately for the Chargers, Slater was back out there on Monday, but he didn't participate in every drill.

During the plays where Slater was not out there, the Chargers used first-round pick Joe Alt at left tackle and moved Trey Pipkins back to his original position of right tackle. This gave the Chargers a chance to see what things would look like without their franchise left tackle.

Rashawn Slater appears to be fine after injury scare

Due to Harbaugh playing things close to the vest, we may never know what was bothering Slater earlier in camp, but it seems that the team is going to ease him back into action.

Outside of Justin Herbert, Slater may be the player on the team the Chargers can least afford to lose for a great deal of time, even if Alt can play either side.

It will be interesting to see how the Chargers use their offensive linemen in their preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks but it seems likely that Slater will be kept out of that contest.