Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

NFL Training Camp Injuries – Trouble for Chargers and Texans As Rashawn Slater and C.J. Gardner Johnson Possibly Out for the 2025–26 NFL Season

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

As the NFL training camps continue to ramp up and preseason games are underway, the most worrisome time of the year is upon us.

Every now and then, we come up with players who get injured during practice or in preseason matches, and while some can be shrugged off as minor setbacks, others are not so forgiving.

The latest injury news from team training camps features the Chargers’ offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, Texans’ safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Eagles’ guard Kenyon Green

Cruel Fate for Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive tackle Rashawn Slater suffered what appears to be a left leg injury and was carted off the field during practice on Thursday, August 07.

During a routine pass-blocking play, Slater was seen going down in visible pain while he attempted to block oncoming linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu. While on the ground, Slater immediately grabbed his leg in apparent discomfort as the training staff and teammates rushed to his side.

Chargers OT Rashawn Slater, who signed a four-year, $113 million extension last month and then was carted off the practice field today, suffered a season-ending ruptured patella tendon, pending further testing, per sources. pic.twitter.com/ALAOks9b8e
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 7, 2025

Although there was no immediate update on the severity of his injury, it has since been confirmed that Slater will have to go under the knife and will end up missing the rest of the season. The Chargers are now most likely to shift Trey Pipkins to right tackle and Joe Alt to left tackle.

Should Slater end up missing the entire 2025-26 NFL season, it will no doubt be a huge blow for the Chargers, who had just signed him to a massive deal less than 2 weeks ago. In fact, Slater is currently the highest-paid offensive tackle in the league after signing a 4-year deal worth $114 million.

Texans’ Gardner Johnson Lucky To Avoid ACL Tear

At the Houston Texans’ training camp, Super Bowl-winning safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson went down in what looked to be a horrific leg injury at the time.

The 27-year-old, who had just joined the Texans in the offseason, came in for what seemed like a routine tackle on wide receiver John Metchie III, but was immediately seen clutching his leg in intense pain. Unable to stand up or put any sort of weight on his leg, Gardner-Johnson was carted off the field by trainers.

Initially, it was feared that the former Eagles’ safety had suffered a torn ACL, but reports have since confirmed that is not the case. Nevertheless, the extent of the injury remains uncertain and can only be determined after further tests. The timeline for his return is also up in the air, which will only be known following the test results.

Good news for the #Texans: Safety C. J. Gardner-Johnson, who was carted off in practice today, did not tear his ACL, sources say. He’s undergoing more tests, but initials tests have provided good news. pic.twitter.com/OynPYGTMQi
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 8, 2025

Eagles’ Kenyon Green Suffers Wrist Injury

Philadelphia Eagles’ guard Kenyon Green was also reportedly carted off the field after he suffered a wrist injury during the second half of the Eagles’ game against the Bengals on Thursday.

Back in March, the Eagles traded safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans in exchange for offensive guard Kenyon Green.

Both players were injured today. Gardner-Johnson left practice with a knee injury, Green left tonight’s game with a wrist injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 8, 2025

During an Eagles’ pass-play, quarterback Kyle McCord threw what was initially thought to be a 37-yard pick-six, but was later overturned after checking the replay. However, Green was hurt on the same play while he went in for a tackle.

As training camps continue along with preseason games, there is always a fear amongst players and coaches about season-ending injuries, which are not only horrible news for players but also cause dynamic changes to team rosters.

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

C.J. Gardner-Johnson

Houston Texans

Kenyon Green

Los Angeles Chargers

NFL

Philadelphia Eagles

Rashawn Slater

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!