Chargers center Tyler Biadasz carted off with left leg injury in joint practice with 49ers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers center Tyler Biadasz was carted off the field with a left leg injury during Tuesday’s joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers.

Biadasz went down after 49ers defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez fell into his leg during an 11-on-11 drill.

“I don’t know exactly what happened but hoping for the best for him,” quarterback Justin Herbert said.

After Biadasz got hurt, rookie Jake Slaughter took reps at center. The second-round pick out of Florida has mostly been playing at left guard during training camp.

“Tyler was doing so well. He was the guy,” Slaughter said. “He’s been nothing but a wonderful mentor. He’s been such a good leader in the room, helping me see the big picture better.”

Biadasz signed with the Chargers in March after starting 31 games over the last two seasons for the Washington Commanders before being released.

Now, Slaughter could find himself starting at center.

Coach Jim Harbaugh noted before practice that the offensive line had been healthy throughout training camp. He singled out Slaughter and rookie Travis Burke as two who have shown they could be Week 1 starters.

“You just don't anticipate that with a rookie offensive lineman especially,” Harbaugh said.

The two-hour practice went off without any skirmishes.

“The vets were like ‘Hey, buckle your chin strap. This is the closest thing to game intensity and you’re going to get live reps,’” Slaughter said. “It was a really cool opportunity. It was a lot of fun.”

Niners running Kaelon Black returned to practice for the first time in two weeks from an adductor injury.

“It’s always tough going against another team on your first day back, but he looked healthy,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Had some juice today, and hopefully he looks the same on tape.”

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy added, “You could tell there’s a different level of intensity when he touches the ball. I’m excited to see what he does in live action too, with breaking tackles, hitting the gaps and stuff like that. I was excited to see him back.”

Also leaving early was Chargers receiver Quentin Johnston, who limped off the field.

Niners wide receiver Mike Evans had his left foot wrapped. He had been out of camp earlier with a quad injury.

“They just said he had some tightness, so we were just being smart taking him out,” Shanahan said. “I don’t think it’s anything worse, so we’ll see when we get in there, but nothing that I’m worried about right now.”

Harbaugh said the Chargers' starters would play one series in Thursday's game.

Shanahan said he expects some starters to play, but not all. Purdy has “a good chance” to be one of them, he said.

Shanahan said running back Christian McCaffrey was out of practice with some tightness. “He'll get sensitive if I say where,” the coach said.

Asked about speculation that McCaffrey is absent because of contract issues, Shanahan said, “People make a lot of assumptions, and that would be one that they're wrong on.”

Neither Shanahan nor Purdy was impressed with the 49ers' offense.

“I thought we struggled a little bit in the move-the-ball periods, didn’t score in two-minute,” Shanahan said, “so there were some ups and downs, but I didn’t really like how we finished the day.”

Purdy added, “I just feel like we could have come out with a little bit more chip on our shoulder.”

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