The Los Angeles Chargers hosted the San Francisco 49ers for a joint practice on Tuesday ahead of their preseason matchup on Thursday night. The two teams will square off again later this year in the regular season just before Christmas, but the joint practice may have a longer-lasting consequence.
Joint practices can always be dangerous. Not that football in and of itself is not dangerous, but the highly competitive environment, without the structure of the game can lead to some careless play and injury risks.
The Chargers gave the 49ers everything they could handle in their joint practice. Let's dive into the biggest takeaways and news.
The San Francisco 49ers have been dealing with devastating injuries over the past several seasons and the conspiracy theory around the NFL blames an electrical substation next to their practice facility. Whatever the true reason is, the 49ers brought some of their injury luck to the Bolt on Tuesday.
Three Chargers players went down during the joint practice. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston was injured but is expected to be fine, edge rusher Kyle Kennard left practice as well. The biggest blow of the day came when starting center Tyler Biadasz folded over after left guard Kayode Awosika blocked and threw a 49ers defensive lineman into Biadasz's left knee.
Biadasz was down and being attended to by the training staff for five minutes before being helped onto the medical cart, unable to put weight on his left leg. Observers at practice noted that Biadasz slammed the cart in frustration.
The Chargers only later announced the injury and that Biadasz was still seeking options with doctors. Reports, though, hint the Biadasz injury will be season-ending .
Rookie Jake Slaughter, who has been bouncing back and forth between left guard and center duties will switch back to his natural center position to replace Biadasz. Undrafted free agent Jacob Spomer is the next center behind Slaughter.
Before practice, head coach Jim Harbaugh told the press that the expectation is that Slater will return to practice sometime this weekend from the setback he suffered two weeks ago in San Diego. The positive news from this is the timing of both the Biadasz injury and the return of Slater. If Slater can stay on the field, the Chargers will be able to scheme and help the interior with Slaughter going through rookie bumps and bruises.
Edge rusher Akheem Mesidor and wide receiver Tre' Harris have both missed three practices in a row.
The Chargers offense and defense had bright moments with the defense consistently making like hard for the 49ers. The Chargers have several young tone setters that elevated their sides of the ball at practice.
Omarion Hampton was running like a possessed monster and even had a highlight run up the middle where a 49ers safety came down the alley to hit Hampton and Hampton lowered his shoulder and sent him flying. After Tyler Biadasz went down, the offense needed a boost and Hampton delivered. The Chargers' social media team had some fun off of Mike McDaniel's comments about the running back room usage being difficult for fantasy managers.
The defense was the star of the show making life difficult for the 49ers the entire way and locking down near the redzone. The Chargers defensive backs, even without Tarheeb Still made Brock Purdy and Mac Jones struggle to find completions. ESPN's beat writer for the 49ers Nick Wagoner had several noteworthy observations from practice, including Tuli Tuipulotu wreaking havoc on the 49ers offensive line.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers passing attack looked great and moved the ball effectively at every level. However, multiple big plays would have actually resulted in Justin Herbert being pressured or sacked. The way practice is coordinated, the defenders are not allowed to hit the quarterbacks and if they get pressure they will either peel off or gently tap the quarterback to allow the play to continue.
The absence of Rashawn Slater and Tyler Biadasz was not a welcome situation for Justin Herbert. Jake Slaughter will need to get all the reps at center now and narrow his focus to being the best center possible. Slaughter had a rough day in pass protection with the first team.
Overall, the Chargers had a good showing against the 49ers but the injury news is potentially devastating. The silver lining is the timing, depending on the severity of the injury, Tyler Biadasz could come back if he does not require a major surgical repair and the team has a young center on the roster, who was widely considered a center only prospect.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chargers/onsi as Chargers Hot in Joint Practice but 49ers Bring Their Substation Injury Problems to LA .
