Slater, 38, Just Keeps Going and Going : Rams: Tackle, now in his 17th season, has played in 235 games, more than any other Ram, and it appears he will be back next season.

For Jackie Slater, a lion in his 17th NFL winter, the question no longer is whether he should start thinking about retirement.

The question, for a 38-year-old man on a team remodeling for the mid-’90s, is when to stop--and how to get off the ride gracefully.

“Obviously, I can’t look far down the road,” Slater said this week.

“Well, nobody plays forever,” said Doug Smith, Slater’s longtime linemate who retired this season after 14 years. “And Jackie’s come about as close to it as there is.”

Slater says he realizes that every day he continues playing right tackle brings him another day closer to the day the Rams go on without him.

Every tomorrow is possibly his last, every new personnel choice possibly the one that ends his career for him.

“That’s a serious possibility, and it’s one I have to deal with,” Slater said. “And it’s also a serious possibility that I myself will say, ‘Hey, I’ve played this long, and this has happened and it’s time for me to make this decision. . . .’

“Ideally, I think I’d rather make it myself, as opposed to someone else making it. But it’s kind of difficult when you still love what you’re doing, and you’re having fun, and you’re healthy enough and you’re being productive to say, ‘Well, OK, that’s enough for me and I’m done.’

“It definitely hasn’t been ruled out by me, you know, making the decision to retire. I know that is a decision I very easily could have to make and could have to make it real soon.”

But even as he ponders his future, Coach Chuck Knox says Slater has a place on next year’s team if he wants one.

Slater has played in 235 games--more than any other Ram ever. Why not 250?

“His role in the picture is that he’s playing excellent football, probably as good . . . as he’s played in the last few years,” Knox said Thursday.

“If he tells me he wants to play another year, that’s fine with me. I don’t have any problem with that.

“I don’t think you can separate by ages--because age is just a number--say this guy can’t do this or he can’t do that because of a certain age. It’s up to the individual. Each individual is different.”

If Slater asked him whether he should return, offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck said his answer would be swift.

“I’d say, ‘Jackie, you’ve got to line up, and you’re going to be treated the same way you were treated this year: Like a rookie.’ ”

Slater is signed through the 1993 season and has said he wants to fulfill that contract. But he knows the Rams probably can’t be a serious playoff contender until 1994, when he will be 40.

The Rams already talk about him as being able to do “most” of the things he’s asked to do, and caginess and experience can make up for only so much lost youth.

He says he understands that the Rams have to look for a replacement and points to this year’s seventh-round pick--6-foot-6 Darryl Ashmore of Northwestern--as a possible heir apparent.

“No, I don’t feel bothered by that at all,” Slater said of the Rams’ search to fill his spot. “As a matter of fact, I’m honored by the fact that I am still playing.

“When I say that, I remember (1975) the year before I got here the Rams went out and they drafted an offensive guard and an offensive tackle to replace two 15-year veterans. And, of course, Doug France and Dennis Harrah went on to have great careers. Charlie Cowan and Joe Scibelli kind of eased on out.

“That doesn’t bother me at all because it’s life, it’s what’s got to happen. As long as I’ve played, it’s obviously become sort of destiny, in a way.

“I think the young guys they have now--Darryl Ashmore is getting better all the time and has a promising future. And it’s just a matter of how soon they want to get him playing.”

Slater also is well aware that things can change quickly in the off-season. If the Rams acquire a young, talented offensive tackle, his decision could be made for him.

“I still love what I’m doing,” Slater said. “And I’m still having fun, and I’m enjoying just about every aspect of this particular profession at this time.

“But there are so many things that can transpire in the course of an off-season that can make a person consider retiring or going on, that it’s too soon for me to get into that right now.

“And now I think even though I might have a desire to continue to play to continue to try to get better, the team could take a twist of directions and I have to be prepared for it.”

Until then, Slater is determined to keep what Knox calls “a fine focus” on the remaining games.

Sunday, Slater gets a rematch with linebacker Rickey Jackson of the New Orleans Saints, who got three sacks in the first game of the season.

“I know his mind-set right now,” Smith said. “Don’t worry about tomorrow because today has enough problems of its own. He’s got a big game coming up with the Saints, and the future is very distant to him right now.”