Chargers toss a wild card into looming position battle with Trey Pipkins III move

As we exit Day 3 of Los Angeles Chargers training camp, the looming left guard saga, of course, continues.

It's still early, and the pads haven't even come on yet. Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel explicitly said today that he's not seriously evaluating the competition during this phase of training camp. But it's hard not think that how the reps have been distributed so far bears some significance, right?

On Days 1 and 2 of camp, Kayode Awosika primarily took the first-team reps at left guard, with Jake Slaughter cycling in on Day 2. Jake Slaughter, for his part, has exclusively taken snaps both as the second-team center and the second-team left guard.

Now, on Day 3, swing tackle Trey Pipkins III came out with the first team to take snaps at the position. It's unclear how much of a chance he'll be given, when the rubber hits the road, to win the job in camp. But at the very least, Pipkins appearance in that role tosses another wild card into what's shaping up to be one of the most intriguing storylines for the Chargers over the course of August.

Trey Pipkins III at least has a peripheral part to play in the Chargers' LG competition

As mentioned above, McDaniel has clearly stated that the coaching staff is not truly evaluating the offensive line at this point in the offseason. But they've also made clear since they selected Slaughter in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft that the plan is for him to make the positional switch to guard. They believe, rather firmly in fact, that Slaughter has the fundamental soundness and the athletic tools to make that transition at the NFL level.

Slaughter did not play a single snap at guard at the college level, and making that transition to McDaniel and new offensive line coach Butch Barry's zone blocking scheme will take nuance and familiarity.

If Awosika or Penning looks like the better option by the end of camp, you can be sure the Chargers will take one of those routes instead.

Pipkins' involvement here is intriguing. As it stands, it seems like Los Angeles brought him back on his two-year, $10 million deal to play the role of swing tackle behind Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. Pipkins stepped in when both players went down last season, and although his play was never inspiring, he was a solid, replacement-level piece for much of the campaign.

The bulk of Pipkins' NFL snaps have come at either left or right tackle, although he did play 705 snaps at right guard in 2024.

Given the way things went last year in terms of injuries, it's likely the Chargers are looking to maximize their positional flexibility along the offensive line. Offseason signing Cole Strange has experience at guard and center, and Penning has experience on the outside if needed. Los Angeles also has depth at tackle beyond Pipkins, with fourth-round selection Travis Burke set to make the roster.

It will take more than a single day of reps to see if Pipkins has truly entered the competition for the starting left guard spot. But his appearance on Day 3 of training camp means it's at least a consideration.

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