Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh clarifies how much the starters will play in the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Chargers are set for their preseason finale on Thursday night as they will take on the Los Angeles Rams in SoFi Stadium.
Throughout the preseason thus far, the Chargers have seen some young players shine, but have also had some tough moments, with the second preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers being a tough showing for offense, defense, and special teams.
With that said, this final game will be critical to decide the final depth chart and see where the starters are at with the first week of the regular season just around the corner.
Talking about the starters, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh gave some clarification in Tuesday's media availability on how much the starters will play.
"Yes, it's more it's more about a matter of plays to me. Somewhere in the six to eight range, six to nine, kind of a range. So, and specifically about six to nine plays," Harbaugh said.
As Harbaugh talked about, the starters will not play a ton and it seems like the indication is they will play about one drive, which is pretty standard and should definitely benefit the Chargers.
The reason this will be good for the Chargers is mainly due to the fact that the starting offensive and defensive units could use more live reps to prepare for the intensity that the regular season will bring.
Specifically on the offensive side, Los Angeles has to figure out the starting offensive line, and having that group play together for at least one drive before the regular season starts would be very helpful.
At this point, it appears that the starting offensive line should be Rashawn Slater at left tackle, Kayode Awosika at left guard, Jake Slaughter at center, Cole Strange at right guard, and Joe Alt at right tackle.
Really, the only question mark is the left guard position, as the Chargers have not named a starter, but it does seem as though Awosika is the favorite to land the starting job, with Trey Pipkins III and Branson Taylor being two potential options if Awosika does not win the job.
Additionally, Slater is still working his way back from a knee flare-up he had earlier in August, but he is trending in the right direction and has returned to practice. With that in mind, Slater should be able to get the reps with the starters on Thursday to give the Chargers a full look at the offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, there are not really any injuries or major questions which is a great place to be with defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary entering his first season as the defensive coordinator for the Chargers.
So, on Thursday night there should be at least one drive for Derwin James Jr., Tuli Tuipulotu, Daiyan Henley, Khalil Mack, and the rest of the Chargers defensive starters to get on the field together and get more of a feel for how O'Leary will call the defense and how this group can build on a strong 2025 performance.
Looking at the special teams, punter J.K. Scott and kicker Cameron Dicker will both play once again and are hoping to bounce back after a tough showing against the 49ers. In that game, Dicker missed an extra point, and Scott allowed a punt return touchdown where he could have made the tackle, but did not.
If Dicker and Scott can both play and eliminate any major mistakes that should give Harbaugh and special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken a good amount of confidence heading into the regular season.
So, as the Chargers prepare to take on the Rams, if the starters can perform well in their limited reps in all three phases, that should give this team confidence with the regular season quickly approaching and allow the players fighting for roster spots to shine and show the coaching staff what they can do.
