Needless to say, the Los Angeles Chargers' loss of starting center Tyler Biadasz to an ACL injury has the potential to be disastrous.
Biadasz was meant to represent a massive upgrade over Bradley Bozeman, who retired this offseason after finishing 2025 as one of the league's least reliable protectors. Biadasz, a top 10-15 center in the NFL, also came to the Chargers at a relatively cheap price ahead of free agency. His signing looked to be a major gift for a team that desperately needed to overhaul their interior protection.
Although we don't have a concrete timetable yet, Biadasz seems slated to miss a significant amount of time with his injury.
The Chargers' preseason matchup with the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday will provide us with our first glimpse at how they plan to respond.
Chargers need as many reps as possible with the new O-line configuration before Week 1
For nearly a month now—and more if you include the offseason program—Biadasz and starting QB Justin Herbert have been working to find a new chemistry. If Biadasz is out long-term, that all goes down the drain.
So does the former complexion of the battle for the starting left guard spot. Just a couple days ago, it seemed as though the race had crystallized upon three competitors—Jake Slaughter, Kayode Awosika, and Branson Taylor. Slaughter will likely now shift over to center, leaving Awosika and Taylor to duke it out over the remainder of camp in the preseason for the lone available starting job.
There's a number of ways this could go on Thursday night against San Francisco.
Jim Harbaugh has said that the defined starters will only play one series against the 49ers. If Slaughter is the new starting center, will he just play in that one drive? Or will the Chargers seek to give him extensive reps in order to help him acclimate to his newly defined position? Slaughter has taken plenty of reps at center throughout camp, but that's a storyline to keep an eye on.
Even more intriguing, though, is who takes the starting reps at left guard—and how are they distributed over the rest of the game when the starters are off the field?
It seems, currently, like Awosika would have the lead in the competition over Taylor. He at least has NFL experience, having started 11 games over the past four seasons for the Detroit Lions, and he's largely split first-team reps with Slaughter over the last week or so.
He'll likely be in there with the starters on Thursday. But if Taylor is still a major factor in the competition, he should get extensive reps at the position as well. Taylor has impressed the coaching staff with his improved physicality and anchor in training camp, and his snap share on Thursday will serve as an indication of what sort of path he still has to winning the job.
The Biadasz injury has given the Chargers a mandate to adjust—and to do it quickly. The matchup against San Francisco will provide us with our first glimpses at how they plan to do so.
Add us as a preferred source on Google