It’s the third day of training camp and we’ve now got a third new face to receive snaps at left guard with the first team.
Per ESPN’s Kris Rhim, veteran Trey Pipkins was the starting left guard for the Chargers when the team broke for 11-on-11 drills. Kayode Awosika was the frontrunner through OTAs and minicamp, along with earning the majority of snaps on day one of camp with rookie Jake Slaughter rotating in. On Thursday, Awosika saw more snaps but rotated in and out with Trevor Penning.
Now on day
three, it’s Pipkins seeing snaps with the first team while Awosika remained within the rotation.
Pipkins has a year of experience playing guard in the NFL, but that came on the right side during the 2024 season when he started 15 games there. He was subsequently moved back to tackle in 2025 after the team signed Mehki Becton to fill that role.
I think it’s the consensus opinion across the fan base that the way the Chargers are not going about solving the left guard spot in the best way possible. They had all the money, but signed just Awosika and Strange, re-signed Penning, and drafted a full-time center in Slaughter. Now, just three days into training camp, we’ve seen four different players spend time with the first team line.
Look, as long as they arrive at the right place, they can take whatever journey they want. Just don’t ask the fans to “chill and let it play out” because they spent the better part of 19 weeks during the 2025 season doing just that.
Their reward? The gutting image of Justin Herbert being peeled off the turf at Gilette Stadium by Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson.
Until the season has begun and the Chargers interior offensive line looks like a strong unit, the skepticism will unfortunately and unsurprisingly remain.
