Chargers Training Camp Problem Might be Going From Bad to Worse

A big issue for the Chargers keeps seeming to get even worse.

Branson Taylor | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Roughly one week into the preseason, perhaps the biggest problem the Los Angeles Chargers faced was just who might end up at one of the starting guard spots in front of Justin Herbert. 

Fast forward to now, it’s almost a red-button emergency situation. 

The fallout from the Tyler Biadasz injury is immense. Rookie Jake Slaughter now has to kick back to center, leaving a mess of things for the Chargers to figure out at left guard. 

Making matters even worse, the backup offensive line spots don’t seem so hot, either. Keep in mind that’s with the Chargers adding free agents for Mike McDaniel and spending four of their eight draft picks on linemen. 

Time is running out for the Chargers to show signs of life in that area. 

Chargers training camp updates at key spot aren’t great

Jake Slaughter | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Biadasz down, Slaughter, the rookie center drafted to play guard, has kicked back to center. The four or so names still involved in the left guard battle aren’t exactly standing out one way or another. 

Just look at updates from ESPN’s Kris Rhim, who said the first practice after the preseason beatdown at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers “was one of the worst days for the offense.”

Rhim noted that Justin Herbert threw one interception and multiple turnover-worthy passes beyond that. Slaughter struggled against the likes of Jamaree Caldwell and that overall it was a bad day for the line. 

All that while shuffling things around in a big way. Rashawn Slater briefly returned to practice after his apparent setback. Otherwise, Travis Burke and Trey Pipkins rotated at left tackle. But Pipkins started the day at left guard before giving way to Kayode Awosika. 

There’s really just…nobody emerging at guard. The fact Pipkins, the primary backup swing tackle, keeps getting first-team reps there, probably isn’t a good sign. Awosika is a mid-tier free-agent add who isn’t establishing himself there. 

Keep in mind that Branson Taylor, a former practice squad member last year, has been one of the biggest “breakouts” of training camp. His rise has been surprising and it could very well end up being him as the starter in Week 1. But with how things have been going, one has to wonder if perhaps his rise is, at least in part, a result of so much uncertainty and middling competition at guard. 

None of this is to say anything about Cole Strange, who most agreed was a pretty questionable, non-challengeable signing as a starter at right guard by McDaniel. He’s been up-and-down at times and will now need to line up next to a rookie center. 

It would be one thing if the Chargers were simply seeing a rookie center go through growing pains. But the fact there’s still a left guard competition next to him right before the third preseason game and no reliable way to get a good player in the door in a lineman-starved NFL is a panic-worthy thing. 

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