One Chargers Position Battle Just Took an Interesting Turn at Training Camp

Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers just keep throwing out interesting wrinkles amid a fierce training camp position battle in front of Justin Herbert.

The Chargers, with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, overhauled the interior of the offensive line. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt remain the bookend offensive tackles, but Tyler Biadasz is the new starting center and Cole Strange is a new starter at guard.

The other guard spot is a mystery.

Jake Slaughter is a rookie center drafted in the second round to play guard. That’s not going so well. Free agent Kayode Awosika has been getting first-team reps as a result. Trevor Penning has been in the mix as well.

And now? Here comes Trey Pipkins.

Trey Pipkins shakes up Chargers offensive line outlook

Los Angeles Chargers tackle Trey Pipkins — Trey Pipkins | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

By far most known as a solid swing-offensive tackle backup, Pipkins has moonlighted at guard over the years.

And now he’s doing it again. According to ESPN’s Kris Rhim, Pipkins was in the mix at left guard during training camp work late in the week.

This could be a simple case of Harbaugh, McDaniel and the rest of the coaching staff just trying to see how all the pieces fit. But Pipkins' right guard experience in 2024 and kicking all around the offensive line last season is more a result of emergency depth needs than because he’s a bona fide starter.

To be fair, the Chargers have some other tackles they want to see over the summer. A draft pick like Travis Burke might be able to serve as a swing backup. And they have popular college free agent Isaiah World waiting in the wings, too, once healthy.

But there’s a big problem:

That’s four names in the mix at guard. Four. It’s August. Is letting the best man win out of the four really going to produce good results? The losers, besides Pipkins and Slaughter, aren’t going to blow anyone’s mind if they end up cut, either.

It’s unfortunately a deja vu thing at guard with the Chargers. They’ve stumbled for years to get it right and Herbert has paid the price. One could call this an early training camp overreaction, but the history is there.

Ideally, by the regular season, Pipkins is the swing backup and Slaughter has comfortably taken the starting guard role. But the Chargers have decided that the position will take fans for a rollercoaster of a ride this summer.

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