It’s nearly that time! Thought I’d create a space where we can talk/track TC news.
Who will win the starting LG position? Will an extension get done for Tuli without a hold-in? Are Slater and Alt back to pre-injury form? How different will Herbert look in the McDaniels’ offense?
Here’s Popper to kick things off.
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Chargers Training Camp Report: Takeaways From Final Practice of 2026 https://share.google/sDAU4nZNUMHoYIyRj
On a separate note, the Dolphins cut Salyer.
Some of the highlights from the joint practice with the Niners per chargers.com. Sounds promising but…..
https://www.chargers.com/news/training-camp-report-joint-practice-49ers-takeaways
This makes no mention of the as yet undisclosed severity of Biadazs’s injury. I’m certain we’d all prefer it not force Slaughter into the starting center role….but at least we do have him should the injury be severe. Fingers crossed and praying to the football gods that this is a pothole, not a sinkhole. 🤞 🙏
And let me add (edit time had run out), this injury is on top of the somewhat troubling lack of reps for Slater. Hopefully Slater’s situation is primarily caution but it begs the question ….. how much will he be available during the regular season?
On another injury note, QJ also limped off and didn’t return. We all know football is a violent sport and injuries are part of the game but can we please catch a break this year??? We may have to test this depth sooner than later. 🫤
If Slater’s availability becomes an issue, I hope they move Alt to LT and put the next man up (Pipkins? sigh) on the right.
Chargers Training Camp Report: Young Offensive Linemen Rise to Challenge on Day 14 https://share.google/EFbYZM5W4B0ERgbB0
Continuing to hold Slater out. I read somewhere that it’s not related to the patella injury, but still a bit disconcerting.
Chargers Training Camp Report: Donte Jackson Shines on Day 12 https://share.google/MAxr5MJXIxy2ffAoY
Los Angeles Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh provides latest injury updates ahead of preseason Week 1 tilt with Houston Texans https://share.google/tenJkZOlr8Qw4nrpM
Good presser. Glad we snagged McDaniel. He’s a geek and perhaps not well-suited (at least not yet) to be a HC, but he’s obviously a brilliant offensive strategist. Love the “conviction over perfection” mindset and drilling in the small things that can keep a defense on its heels. Excited to see a dynamic offense after the headscratching frustration engineered by Roman.
Herb is Herb. I do think (OL health/performance given) he’s going to light it up this year.
Perryman is yoked!
“I hope they got their mouthpiece in”. YES!!!! But save the best for opponents and stay off the bad list this year, please.
Not entirely training camp related but a good story. Hoping for bigger and better from a good guy.
How Chargers’ Tarheeb Still is looking to unlock his potential in third NFL season – The Athletic https://share.google/1oj24FW8PyA8kVzN8
Looking for very good things from Tre this year. If the OL holds up/stays healthy, I see Herbert with a monster year and having the excellent “problem” of spreading the ball around to numerous talented targets.
And then there’s the RB’s, where I hope to see the screen game resurrected.
1 Chargers Training Camp Breakout Already Shining Under Mike McDaniel https://share.google/T3MHZp6fSv2f69p3A
Popper’s take on padded Thursday.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7497710/2026/08/06/chargers-training-camp-justin-eboigbe/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=12566676&source=dailyemail
Alt on Messidor. Thinking we just may have another lunch pail guy. 👍🏼
https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/chargers/2026/08/05/chargers-joe-alt-akheem-mesidor-comments-high-praise/91189272007/?utm_source=smg-chargerswire-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SMGbaseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=8872WS-E-ChargersWire
When drafting older prospects, which will become more likely with NIL, I do think this a characteristic those players must have in order for a team to maximize the value/life of contracts they’ll need to be productive from the start. Having watched some of those videos on AM after the draft, this felt like a natural trait for him already so its good to see he continues to be himself.
For those of you who didn’t know, music is a passion for me. The Grateful Dead occasionally performed a traditional folk song titled “The Monkey and the Engineer”. On their live 1980 acoustic album, Reckoning, Bob Weir introduced this song as one about tragedy narrowly averted.
That’s how I’m feeling today.
Rashawn Slater averts disaster, keeps Chargers’ season on rails – Yahoo Sports https://share.google/268r39qeMpiG5kdeo
Felt like a huge over-reaction. The dude was not carted off the field. I didn’t see anyone saying he was limping or anything. Football is a contact sport. Glad that he’s being careful and getting any minor thing checked out. This is the time of year the players need to get in football shape and ingrain the playbook in their brains. They need to limit the physical risks and error on the side of caution whenever a key player has a minor physical issue.
If any of my responses regarding this came across that way, mea culpa. I plead for mercy based upon the vestiges of Charger PTSD. Get thee gone!!! lol
But more seriously….yes. Go slow. Proceed with planned caution. Injuries happen but sound strategies can often mitigate the effects. Slater is returning from a major injury that too often has proven to be career ending, or at least an ongoing impact. Hoping he’s the outlier.
Did you ever get to a show at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon? They performed 20 times at the U of O in their history and the Autzen gigs were often a hazy smoke fest inside the bowl, lol
The thing about that Yahoo report and many others (unlike Popper, go figure) is that there was no “play” that happened that anybody has actually brought up to suggest there even was an injury that occurred. They’re treating him going to the tent as if something happened.
Conversely, Popper reported that its not been an uncommon thing to see Slater not participate at the end of practices, presumably because they’re still easing him back (unlike Alt who hasn’t missed a snap) and with 5.5 weeks until the season starts they’ve got no reason to have him practice at the end when he’s more tired and more susceptible to injuring himself.
No, never made it there. Roughly 300 Dead shows though. Mostly east coast, Midwest, a handful of Cali shows.
Bleacher Report ranks the 175 NFL OL by position/overall.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25460228-br-nfl-1000-ranking-top-offensive-linemen-2026-season
Slater – LT6 (#13)
Penning – LG33 (#168)
Biadasz – OC8 (#52)
Strange – RG26 (#133)
Alt – RT2 (#18)
Respectfully, Duck, I find almost nothing from BR to be worthwhile.
Brandon Thorn who wrote the piece does terrific work. It’s not Bolt Beat/Jason Reed
Then I’d suggest he associate himself with a different outlet.
I’ll read the piece on your recommendation. 🙂
Popper on first day in pads.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7492629/2026/08/04/los-angeles-chargers-training-camp-nadame-tucker/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=12566676&source=dailyemail
My primary takeaways….
We need Slater to be ok …. PLEASE!!!! …. and to probably add a veteran FA at guard, possibly tackle. Zeitler is still available as a veteran stopgap at guard and Pittsburgh may have a surplus of tackles.
Herbert seems to be adjusting well to the changes McDaniels has implemented. An improvement in timing and release time can only be good things combined with his extraordinary arm talent.
I think our WR and TE rooms are gonna turn heads this year. Hopefully there’s vast improvement in the run game too. That remains to be seen but hope springs.
Nadame may be a steal and push Dupree out. Wax could also provide more than stellar ST play this year. Where’s Colston? And where tf are we with Tuli’s extension???
Will we get unexpected performance from UDFA defensive backs this year? It’s only training camp but early reports sound promising. I love Derwin being Derwin.
If you aren’t at least cautiously optimistic at this time of year, what are ya even doing here?? I’m optimistic enough that I’m in the beginning phases of a trip to SoFi. Admittedly, the optimism is tempered by initially targeting the Jets game cuz I think that’s a Bolts W.
I would target the same game if I were you. That would be a great first SoFi experience by taking in the spectacular venue and soaking up a W to boot.
Slater dinged today, left practice field. No word on status. 🙄
Well, germane to a possible QJ extension is that Zay Flowers just got a 4-year 140M (108 guaranteed) extension from the Ravens.
Several extensions have gotten done in the last week or so, but not Tuli’s. I’m not overly anxious…yet….but would prefer to see him getting the camp reps with his new DC.
I don’t think you’ll see a QJ extension until there’s some evidence in this offense.
This season is going to let us know which of QJ/Ladd we’ll need to offer the Extension to and which one to let walk in FA since the team can only afford to have so many high priced players on each side of the ball.
It’s been said before but drafting WRs early and letting them walk for Comp picks is a good strategy and the emergence of Tre and Brenen could make it much easier to let him walk even with a big season.
I’ve always, and still, support QJ but I feel pretty comfortable saying Ladd would make that cut.
100%. Remember, Hortiz and Harbaugh didn’t draft QJ and Hortiz moved up for Ladd.
Good that he is at least working out in some drills. Seems like an amicable negotiation going on so far. Like you said, not overly worried at this time.
First day in pads fellas!! First order of business….STAY HEALTHY!!!!!
I’ve got a real good feeling about Messidor. Now let’s get the Tuli extension done so we can see these guys together with Mack. That could be a murderer’s row.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7489889/2026/08/03/chargers-training-camp-what-to-watch-pads/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=12566676&source=dailyemail
Back tomorrow, pads on Tuesday.
https://www.chargers.com/news/training-camp-takeaways-week-1-2026
The LG competition is confusing. Pipkins got pushed around way too much in his year at guard. Looking back at his RAS, he has elite explosion Great speed, good size and agility, but poor strength (He did 16 bench presses, which I think I could probably manage on a good day). Not sure if the new scheme with him running forward a lot will make up for the times he’s going to get trucked on pass protecting snaps.
Overall, I’m disappointed with the approach at LG. I’m willing to give the new staff some leeway, but right now, it looks like they’re throwing a bunch of below-average-to-terrible guards at the wall to see what sticks. Not what I was hoping for in a year the team seems poised to make a deep playoff run.
I’m actively rooting AGAINST Pipkins or Penning being the starter at LG. They’ve both had their chances at multiple positions and were subpar.
I don’t mind seeing competition to find the best solution. I do wish Hortiz had brought in a better, proven player to add to the mix.
Given the choice of the two, I would rather have Penning and his strength/athleticism. Trevor was not a terrible guard (he’s also not a great guard either). My favorite use for Penning is as the short-yardage TE – he smashed the shit out of dudes in that role last year.
The more I look at the problem, the more I think they need to look externally for a LG.
I think Penning may be the better run blocker but both are turnstiles in the passing game.
Based on my very novice watching of the all-22, Penning is a much better guard than tackle and Pipkins, when healthy, is a much better tackle than guard. Penning has the strength and nasty to play inside. Pipkins agility & speed are better at tackle.
Penning has the strength but his “nasty” often causes him to overextend and be out of position. His issues are less physical and more mental. He thinks he can physically dominate and when he doesn’t the wheels come off in his mental game. This was the case coming out of college and remains.
As for Pipkins? He’s just not starter material and it’s been apparent for too long.
Agree on both points. I do think that, at guard, Penning was asked to move less, which helped him to be out of position less. Curious how (or if) he will fit in the McDaniels scheme. My guess is no as he’s going to be asked to move more, but his athleticism for a dude his size could help him find success if he sorts out his mental issues.
Zeitler is 36 but still available and still producing. I think he’s worth a look if his ask is reasonable. Could buy another year for one of the younger guys (or a 2027 draft pick) to get coached up.
That would be my choice. Dude could add a lot of stability to the interior.
So far the 2 names that stand out the most to me from the reports are Brenen Thompson and Justin Eboigbe, with the caveat that the pads aren’t on yet.
BT has gotten a noticeable amount of comments from Justin to the point it makes you wonder what his usage rate could be this year relative to his targets. For example Tre Harris might get more snaps but BT may get more targets.
Eboigbe has gotten some praise as well and him continuing to develop into a rotational DE/DT for us would be another great sign of Hortiz and the Scouts finding Day 3 players who play. I remember wanting us to take Oregon’s Brandon Dorlus and so far each player really rose in Year 2 after not doing much as a rookie with Dorlus getting more sacks but Eboigbe having more tackles overall last year.
Since it’s the hot-button topic, I prefer that Slaughter is working primarily as OC2 right now and not making him take OG reps only. He was drafted to be the long-term Center who “might” be able to play OG and hopefully can in time with Biadasz under contract for 3 years. As it is, I recall Bozeman being my biggest gripe often in games when it came to the blocking (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aJf7kN3VvtY) so having a backup we can count on is a big advantage for us now.
Yeah, I’m not sold on trying to force Slaughter into the LG spot. As of now Biadasz is almost surely an improvement from last year but not a proven commodity here. Slaughter could be our starting center sooner than later for performance or injury reasons.
It could be that there comes a point where Biadasz moves to LG too but I’m not going to gripe about getting more quality OL on the roster.
Burke is an interesting pick as a RT and a hedge for injury this year. I think that’s been an undersold part of this OL room too – the depth is much better even if guys like Pipkins and Penning are still around as they now represent the final OL roster spots to me as OL8 and OL9.
Although I didn’t like the Pipkins extension and would prefer to see this “experiment” over, I get that he’s at least a proven commodity. Hopefully these new guys will push both Pipkins and Penning to the rear. For now, as always, fingers crossed for limited injuries. None is unrealistic.
Biadasz, who is going to be 29 in November, has been an above average starting center for 5 of his 6 NFL seasons. His PFF grade has improved every year (last year, he was PFFs 11th ranked center – Bozeman was 40th out of 40 centers ranked by PFF).
I expect Biadasz to be an above average, reliable center (and a significant upgrade over Bad Brad).
I certainly expect that. But I’m still carrying shreds of Chargers PTSD too.
This is not an early overreaction but I am planting a personal flag. If Pipkins ends up being the best we can do at LG I may lose my groovy just a bit. Or Penning, for that matter.
Early take from Popper. Get ’em while you still can. 🫤
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7481637/2026/07/30/chargers-training-camp-justin-herbert-mike-mcdaniel/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=12566676&source=dailyemail
Perhaps he’ll prove to be correct and yes, I do question the use of our 2nd round pick on Slaughter. But I also think Jason Reed is a pissy little b*tch of a pundit. Far too early to make this sort of determination aside from being a dick for clicks.
Could this be John Gennaro’s alias? lol
https://boltbeat.com/it-took-1-day-of-chargers-training-camp-for-offseason-blunder-to-rear-its-ugly-head
He’s a clown, plain and simple.
Really hoping stormcloud can make a leap in member engagement this year because uhhhh it aint great out there otherwise. Goddamn BFTB is an embarrassment these days but remains the only platform with a comment section that I know of. Outside of the big social media apps bullshit that I just can’t commit to. A shame.
I think this will be the season. I expect great things from the Chargers this year and this is the forum if you want more intelligent conversation (myself excluded…).
I don’t disagree. Sometimes I’m just weak for any source of Chargers content, even to scoff at.
I got you Buck. Here’s a summary of Training Camp – Day 2:
And here’s Grok’s forecast for the season:
Is that the Yaquina Bay Bridge in your pfp?
I just started updating the ignore section on BFTB with some of the new nonsense now that camp has begun.
I gave up on BoltBeat a long time ago. Unreadable. I think replacing Jason with an AI writer would be an upgrade.
For fun, I asked Grok to write a brief summary of the first day of Chargers camp:
Tuli worked on the sidelines today.
They’d better not fuck this up. He’s an ascending young player and an integral part of this team.
What would you be willing to pay him?
I think the team won’t go over 30M/year because they’ll use the Franchise Tag instead if they can’t get a deal done and I think that’s something his Agent has to be aware of too. I don’t believe the Tag # will get to that 50M mark for another 2 years with the news deals that were signed this offseason and the team has a lot of other players to also pay this year and next and we’ve got a lot of picks for next years draft. Drafting another Edge in the 1st next year could be possible if he wants more than the team will pay.
I don’t claim to be a contract guy but I’d look at something like 4/$120M with $90M guaranteed.
Not only is Tuli still very young, ascending, and an integral part of this defense….this is also an opportunity for Hortiz to show the league and incoming/future Chargers that yes, we do value our drafted/developed players and will compensate fairly. He’s walked that talk with Derwin (though obviously not a Hortiz draft pick). I think Tuli is a prime candidate to prove Hortiz means what he says. Culture setting moment IMO.
Here we go fellas!!! The 2026 season is upon us!!!
Woohoo!
You know it’s training camp when QJ catches a ball one-handed during warm-up drills, it gets posted to social media, half the fans praise the catch, and the other half point out it’s a meaningless warm-up drill.
Football is back!