Offensive line injury move likely decides Chargers’ starting guard competition

With the Los Angeles Chargers preparing for the 2026 season, which is right around the corner, the team’s latest move makes this positional battle clear as to who the winner is to start the year. As the Chargers finalize their 53-man roster, the latest move on offensive guard Branson Taylor makes the victor of the starting guard competition all too clear.

According to insider Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, Los Angeles is putting Taylor on the injured reserve (IR) “with a designated for return designation.” He would add that Kayode Awosika is now “in line” to start as the team’s offensive guard.

“The Chargers are putting G Branson Taylor on IR with a designated-for-return designation, source said. Sounds like Kayode Awosika is in line to start at guard,” Rapoport wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Taylor would sustain an upper-body injury in the Chargers’ second preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, which ended in a 41-17 loss. While Taylor’s injury puts Awosika in line to start, there is a case to be made that he was already heading down the path of being Los Angeles’ starting offensive guard.

Take what Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said last Sunday, even expressing that Awosika is the “leader right now.”

“Kayode Awosika is right there. He’s the leader right now,” Harbaugh said, according to The Chargers Wire.

At any rate, it remains to be seen when Taylor will come back to the team and help with Los Angeles’ offensive line depth, as there’s no denying that the unit will be critical to help protect star quarterback Justin Herbert.

The Chargers open the regular season with a Week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 13, as a new offense looks to be displayed under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

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