The Bolts got back to work Saturday by practicing for roughly 90 minutes in full pads on Day 13 of Chargers 2026 Training Camp.
The Chargers were off Friday after a 27-7 win in Houston, a game Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh was "a very good start" to preseason play.
The Chargers will practice at 10 a.m. at The Bolt for the next three days, including a joint practice with the 49ers on Tuesday.
Here is the Chargers Training Camp Report from Saturday's practice:
1. Molden leads dominant defense
The Chargers spent the next-to-last period of Saturday's practice working on a 2-minute drill.
The offense had the ball on the opponents' 45-yard line with one timeout and 35 seconds on the clock.
What transpired wasn't a surprise given how the Bolts defensive units looked all practice long.
Justin Herbert's group managed to advance into the red zone following a 10-yard completion to Omarion Hampton and a 20-yard pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
Since the offense had called a timeout after the Hampton catch, Herbert was forced to spike the ball after Smith's catch got the offense down to the 15-yard line.
But after a second-down incompletion left just six seconds on the clock, Harbaugh decided he'd seen enough and had Trey Lance's unit try the drill.
However, Lance's group was on the field for just two plays as Elijah Molden nabbed an interception to seal the drill.
Overall, Molden's interception highlighted what was a strong day for the defense and an out-of-sorts one for the offense, as the latter unit was plagued with penalties and poor execution.
The strong defensive effort began in 7-on-7 drills when Troy Dye deflected away Herbert's first pass of the drill.
Deane Leonard then had strong coverage on Quentin Johnson down the field, ripping the ball out of the wide receiver's grasp for an incompletion.
Khalil Mack then had a sack in full-team drills before Genesis Smith had a pass breakup.
Tre' Harris later made a dazzling one-handed catch, but the play would have been negated by both a false start and a Tuli Tuipulotu sack.
Lander Barton, Tuipulotu and Garmon Randolph later had tackles for loss while Justin Eboigbe and Bud Dupree split a sack.
2. An update at left guard
Harbaugh said on August 4 that he wanted to see around 10 more practices before potentially making a decision on the Bolts starting left guard.
With Saturday marking eight practices since that date, where does that position battle stand?
"Let's see what this week brings us," Harbaugh said before practice.
He then continued: " I thought some guys made a big step last Saturday. Jake Slaughter, inflection [point] last Saturday ... so what's this Saturday going to bring? Then Sunday, Monday..."
Slaughter was one of two players who rotated at left guard on Saturday along with Kayode Awosika, with the rookie getting the first crack in full-team reps.
The rest of the top Chargers offensive line was unchanged as it included left tackle Trey Pipkins III, center Tyler Biadasz, right guard Cole Strange and right tackle Joe Alt.
Rashawn Slater didn't practice Saturday as Harbaugh noted the left tackle is "working through something" but the Chargers Head Coach is "not worried about it."
Elsewhere along the line, the unit in front of Lance initially included, from left to right, Logan Taylor, Branson Taylor, Slaughter, Awosika and Travis Burke.
Jacob Spomer (center) and Trevor Penning (right guard) later rotated in with that group, with Logan Taylor moving to right guard and Penning moving to left guard.
The next unit for DJ Uiagalelei was, from left to right, Laekin Vakalahi, Alex Harkey, Spomer, Penning and Branson Taylor.
Josh Kaltenberger later mixed in at center and right guard while Burke came in at right tackle.
Burke and Logan Taylor led the Chargers with 58 offensive snaps Thursday night in Houston.
Harbaugh said before practice that he's been pleased with all of the Bolts young offensive linemen.
"There's been some seeds planted there and now you watch and see how they grow," Harbaugh added. "Arrow up."
3. A look at the backup QBs
While the Bolts defensive units got the better of Lance and Uiagalelei, Harbaugh came away impressed with them from Thursday game.
Lance completed 12 of 20 passes (60 percent) for 164 yards and an interception to go along with 27 yards on the ground.
Uiagalelei took over the final four drives and finished six for nine (66.6 percent) for 120 yards and a touchdown.
"I thought they did really well, Again, the coaching ... really showed up and they took that to the field, particularly the timing and footwork," Harbaugh said. "That's something that was really worked on this offseason by our quarterbacks and I thought they put that on display well."
Harbaugh then singled out Uiagalelei's improved footwork and precision.
"DJ, what more do you have to do? 146.8 quarterback rating, that's pretty darn good," Harbaugh said.
Lance has taken the majority of reps behind Herbert thus far in camp, with Uiagalelei next in line after that.
But with Herbert expected to start Thursday night against the 49ers, we'll see how the Chargers divvy up snaps between Lance and Uiagalelei after that.
For more info on camp, check out the Chargers Training Camp Hub.
