The Chargers took a major hit in the trenches this week, and that kind of news matters for the Raiders.
Los Angeles had already spent the offseason trying to shore up an offensive line that helped derail its 2024 season. The losses of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater last year exposed the interior and left Justin Herbert under constant pressure. So the Chargers went out and signed center Tyler Biadasz to a three-year, $30 million deal, banking on a healthier front to stabilize everything.
That plan took a big blow Tuesday during joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers. Biadasz was carted off after suffering a serious knee injury, and multiple reports later described the issue as a long-term one.
His ACL was damaged, along with other injuries to the knee, and he is expected to be sidelined indefinitely. That means he’ll be out when the Chargers host the Raiders in Week 2.
For Las Vegas, the timing of that injury could not be better. The Raiders have their own issues, especially on the defensive tackle side, but Biadasz missing the matchup changes the tone of the battle up front. Instead of dealing with a proven center who had been a strong run blocker for Washington in recent years, the Raiders are likely to see rookie Jake Slaughter.
Slaughter is a Day 3 prospect whom Joe Hortiz and Co. reached for in Round 2, and he had been working almost entirely at guard in camp, not always with the first group. He did get some center reps in the Chargers’ first preseason game, but he’s still learning on the job. That’s a different assignment from facing Biadasz, and it gives Las Vegas a more manageable target in the middle.
That matters because the Raiders’ run defense has already shown some rough edges. It was putrid in the preseason opener and again during joint practices with the Houston Texans.
With Biadasz out, Adam Butler, Tonka Hemingway and the rest of that group won’t be staring down a Pro Bowl-caliber center. They’ll be trying to get traction against a young player in just his second NFL game.
Slater’s situation is another thing to watch. He has missed the last eight practices, though Harbaugh doesn’t appear overly concerned about his long-term outlook. Even so, the Chargers remain the more complete team when healthy, and that gap still exists.
But Week 2 won’t be played on paper. Availability will decide plenty, and right now the Raiders have a real opening created by Biadasz’s injury.
In Other News...
Raiders Joint Practice Just Took A Brutal Turn Texans Fans Feared
Joint practices are supposed to sharpen a team before the real games begin, but the Texans and Raiders ended up getting a reminder of how quickly the tone can change. Houston wide receiver Jayden Higgins, coming off a promising rookie season in 2025 with 41 catches, 525 yards and six touchdowns, was hurt during the session in Las Vegas, turning what should have been a routine preseason workday into a far more serious concern for the Texans.
Medical evaluations later confirmed the extent of the damage, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, and Houston now has to plan without one of its young receiving threats for the long haul. For the Raiders, the practice itself becomes part of an unfortunate footnote, while the larger concern is the kind of injury news that can alter a season before it even starts. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Early Test Vs Texans Exposed One Week 1 Concern
The Raiders have been using joint practices and preseason reps as part of their rebuild, and the recent work against the Texans offered a useful checkpoint on where the roster stands. Las Vegas has shown more structure than it did a year ago, and coach Kevin Kubiak has been able to point to real progress, but these sessions also serve their other purpose: exposing the rough edges before the games start counting.
One of the clearest areas to watch is up front, where the offense is still looking for more consistency as the regular season approaches. The Texans were able to make life difficult in those matchups, and the Raiders are still sorting through how to handle that kind of pressure while continuing to develop the new pieces around the quarterback situation. [Read more 🡒]