Chargers Roster Spotlights: Trevor Penning, What Role Will He Have in 2026?

Trevor Penning, born on May 15, 1999, in Clear Lake, Iowa, attended Newman Catholic High School in Mason City, Iowa, where he played football, basketball and threw discus and shot put on the track and field team. This multi-sport athletic ability, unfortunately, was not enough for Penning to garner any recruiting status, having a zero-star status according to 247Sports. Penning committed to play college football at Northern Iowa, as they were the only team interested in his talents.

Once with the program, Penning redshirted his first season. The following season, he earned the starting job, playing in all 15 games. His redshirt junior season was the COVID-19 pandemic season, disallowing him to play a full season, playing in all six games, five of which at left tackle, one at right tackle.

In Penning's final year with the program, he started all 12 games, earning plenty of accolades that would take all day to list. This hype followed Penning to the 2022 NFL Draft, where he was an extremely divisive prospect due to his athletic traits and starting experience, but balanced out with his raw and, at times, overly aggressive playstyle, which caused issues with penalties.

The New Orleans Saints decided they liked Penning's mauling mentality and hoped to keep the positives of his attitude while getting rid of the issues that caused penalties and poor pass protection reps. They selected him with the 19th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft.

In his first season, he only played in six games, suffering multiple injuries, which limited his season. Moving on to year two, he started five games, but was active for all 17. He gave up four sacks and allowed 19 pressures, coupled with seven penalties.

2024 was Pennings' first year as a full-time starter, this time at right tackle. He had 13 penalties and gave up five sacks and 54 pressures. This production is close to what the Chargers got from 2021 Storm Norton (Norton had similar pressure numbers, more sacks allowed, and but fewer penalties).

Going into 2025, he was obviously on the trade block after starting six games at a new position, left guard, and not playing well.

Chargers Trevor Penning, OL Northern Iowa

The Chargers were the team to pick Penning up midway through the 2025 season, giving up a 2027 sixth-round selection to do so. The Chargers were desperate for more offensive line talent as they were decimated by injuries at the position.

They inserted Penning at left tackle, where he started one game, the first one with the team, playing very poorly in pass protection. Los Angeles quickly recognized this and moved his responsibilities to right guard and their sixth offensive lineman in certain packages. He excelled in the extra lineman role, but not so much at guard, especially in pass protection.

2025 Season Stats (with the Chargers)

7 Games Played
193 Snaps Played
60.4 Overall PFF Grade
68.8 Run Blocking PFF Grade
52.5 Pass Blocking PFF Grade
2 Sacks Allowed
11 Pressures Allowed
4 Penalties

Measurables

Contract Status

"Trevor Penning signed a 1 year, $3,500,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including $1,250,000 signing bonus, $3,500,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $3,500,000. In 2026, Penning will earn a base salary of $2,250,000 and a signing bonus of $1,250,000, while carrying a cap hit of $3,500,000 and a dead cap value of $3,500,000." - Spotrac

Trevor Penning's 2026 Season Outlook

Now under Mike McDaniel and his wide-zone offense, Penning is a player who will benefit from this change. His athletic tools will excel in the run game, with his pass protection warts will be masked by McDaniel's quick passing offensive philosophy.

That said, it is still unknown whether Penning will earn the starting guard job, as rookie Jake Slaughter and fellow veteran Kayode Awosika are both options that are earning first-team and second-team reps at the spot, at least during early off-season practices. Penning is expected to have a role on this team in 2026, with hopes that he can rehabilitate his value and net the Chargers a compensatory selection for the future.

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