Chargers Camp — Aug 23: Slaughter Is the Starting Center Now

The Los Angeles Chargers changed starting centers this week. Tyler Biadasz's left knee gave out in Tuesday's joint practice with San Francisco — the team announced imaging and additional medical opinions the next day, and Thomas Martinez at Sports Illustrated's Chargers site reported a torn anterior cruciate ligament with Biadasz out indefinitely. By Saturday, Jim Harbaugh had settled it in public, per Eric Smith at the team's website: "Jake Slaughter is now our starting center, so that's a big change," followed by "I'm very confident in Jake Slaughter being our starting center." Slaughter is a second-round rookie who, eight days earlier in Houston, was splitting series between center and left guard; on Saturday he took every center snap in front of Justin Herbert.

The endorsement is ahead of the game evidence, and it's fair to say so. In Thursday's 41-17 loss to the 49ers, Martinez graded Slaughter's night as an early struggle with the physical demands of the position, while the line's best marks went to undrafted rookie Jacob Spomer, who handled twists and stunts cleanly and got to the second level fast. The promotion also re-opens the left guard competition, because Slaughter had just become a live candidate there. Kayode Awosika ran with the first group Saturday, and Harbaugh's word on it, per Smith, was "Kayode is right there, he's the leader right now." Chris Roling at Sports Illustrated's Chargers site caught the shape of the depth chart in Harbaugh's own accounting of the settled positions — center, right guard, right tackle, left tackle — which is four spots out of five, with left guard the one the head coach declined to name.

The game itself deserves its honest label: one series of starters, then reserves. Herbert's night lasted three snaps — a run for a loss of a yard, a nine-yard completion to tight end Charlie Kolar, and a third-and-two incompletion intended for Ladd McConkey — before Trey Lance took the second possession, per Myles Simmons at Pro Football Talk. Joe Alt likewise played only the three snaps, and the defensive starters got 12, per Smith's takeaways. What the reserves produced was rough: seven penalties, four on offense, with illegal formation and illegal shift calls erasing the better plays; 229 total yards; 31 rushing yards on 17 carries from the backs, per Martinez; an 83-yard Jacob Cowing punt-return touchdown against the coverage unit, per Michael Peterson at SB Nation, and a missed Cameron Dicker extra point. Harbaugh did not soften any of it, per Smith: "We got outplayed and beat ourselves in all three phases. It's not going to go well when those two things occur." And on what August is supposed to be for: "It's hard to evaluate the quarterbacks with those kind of errors taking place." A week ago these same backup layers hung 27 points on Houston; the whiplash between the two nights is a decent argument that neither told us much. The bright spots were specific, though. Linebacker Junior Colson stepped in front of an Adrian Martinez pass in the flat and walked it 16 yards untouched for a touchdown, per the team's recap — the recap notes it was his first as a professional, after a 2025 lost to a shoulder injury. Lance ripped off a 37-yard run, the longest play of the night, and DJ Uiagalelei hit undrafted rookie receiver Jerand Bradley for a 28-yard score.

Saturday brought the week's other genuine change: Rashawn Slater practiced. The left tackle, who had missed more than a week after a flare-up in his surgically repaired knee, went through individual drills and the first team period before the staff shut him down for the rest of the session, per Smith. Roling filed the return as the week's good news while pointing out that nobody has said whether Slater sees live team work or a preseason snap before the September 13 opener against Arizona; per Ryan Anderson's earlier reporting, the plan has been the opener first, preseason never. After Slater stepped out Saturday, Trey Pipkins ran first-team left tackle, per Smith's practice report. The rest of the ledger is short: wide receiver Tre Harris and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor were working through issues and expected back on the field over the weekend, per Smith's takeaways, and Saturday's 90-minute practice belonged to the defense, with Khalil Mack intercepting a pass and stacking sacks in team drills — depth on that side of the ball, questions on the other.

Back in July we previewed this team as Justin Herbert's environment finally built — both tackles healthy, the interior of the line intact, Mike McDaniel imported to cut the time between snap and decision — and we've been checking that preview against camp every week. This was the week the interior clause broke: the tackles held, with Slater back on grass and Alt untouched, but the starting center is out indefinitely, his replacement is a rookie days into the job, and left guard is the position the head coach won't yet call settled. One more episode before the season starts grading it.

What to watch: whether Slater graduates to full team reps this week, who lines up at left guard Thursday night against the Rams at SoFi Stadium, and what the cutdown to 53 next Sunday says about the interior depth behind a rookie center. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._