Teair Tart Leads Dominant Defense, Left Guard Battle and More From Saturday Practice

The Los Angeles Chargers have returned to Southern California and resumed training camp following their preseason opener against the Houston Texans. The Chargers defense ruled the day against the Texans and suffocated Houston not allowing points after the first drive of the game. Their collective play with Chris O'Leary at the controls was one of the biggest takeaways from the game.

The Chargers defense did not feature any starters or main contributors outside of linebacker Troy Dye, saftey RJ Mickens and the debut of rookie first-round pick Akheem Mesidor. They faced off against the Texans starting offensive line on the first drive with Davis Mills at quarterback.

The defense has not slowed down and kept the momentum heading into practice on Saturday resulting in the Chargers offense having a frustrating day. Let's dive into the big notes from practice and press conferences today.

Teair Tart is a menace

The Chargers sat all four of their main defensive tackles against the Houston Texans allowing the young backups the opportunity to shine, put play on film and potentially challenge for roster spots. The Chargers' core four of Teair Tart, Jamaree Caldwell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Justin Eboigbe have been challenging the Chargers offensive line all camp.

Tart continued his destructive trend at Saturday's practice and stood out against the Chargers offense. Rookie offensive lineman Jake Slaughter got the start at left guard with Kayode Awosika rotating in. Tart was no match for the rookie on a pass rep quickly leading to a sack of Justin Hebert among his many disruptive plays.

Defense turned up the heat

The Chargers defense overall ruled the day over the offense. In team period, Justin Herbert and the first team managed to finally get the ball into the redzone and Trey Lance stepped in and threw an interception to safety Elijah Molden to kill the drive.

Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, Akheem Mesidor, Nadame Tucker, Justin Eboigbe and new addition Andre Carter all had plays that would have resulted in sacks. Meanwhile cornerback Deane Leonard had a solid day in coverage as he, linebacker Troy Dye, safety Genesis Smith and Eboigbe all logged pass break ups on the day.

Left guard battle

Rookie Jake Slaughter got the start with the first team today rotating with Kayode Awosika with Branson Taylor taking the reps with the second team. Based on the timeline provided by head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, the left guard battle should be coming to a resolution in the next week or so.

Justin Herbert and the starting offense is expected to get a series against the San Francisco 49ers in their upcoming preseason game on Thursday. It is a very real possibility that the next few days, highlighted by joint practice with the 49ers on Tuesday, will determine the winner of this battle and we will see the debut of the starting lineup against the 49ers on Thursday night.

Is there a battle for QB 2 brewing?

The Chargers signed quarterback Trey Lance last offseason in a surprising move but he slowly worked his way into earning the backup quarterback job behind Justin Herbert. The Chargers also signed quarterback DJ Uiagalelei as an undrafted free agent and he competed throughout training camp in 2025 earning a spot on the Chargers practice squad.

Both quarterbacks were back with the Chargers this offseason and Uiagalelei picked up the new offense from Mike McDaniel quickly and looked great in OTAs. Both quarterbacks did well against the Texans but Lance had at least two terrible throws one that was intercepted and another that should have been.

DJ Uiagalelei operated a near-perfect offense with the third team and even coach Harbaugh said at his press conference today, "I thought both played really well." Harbaugh continued, "And DJ, what more do you have to do? 148.6 quarterback rating. That's pretty darn good."

Trey Lance continued to take the reps with the second team at Saturday's practice but DJ Uiagalelei did get his first snaps with the second team on Tuesday before the preseason game. Based on his performance, he may get a few more snaps with the second team going forward. If he does, that will signal there may be a real quarterback competition brewing.

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