The Chargers’ 0-4 start has already put them on the radar for an unwanted kind of October conversation: who could be moved if the season keeps sliding.
Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports, citing several NFL sources, reported that rival teams are watching Los Angeles as a possible seller before the trade deadline. One league executive went even further, calling the Chargers the “most likely team to pull the plug.”
“They are the most likely team to pull the plug,” the executive said. “Maybe Tampa (also 0-4) is another one, but the Chargers are intriguing because they’ve got some players there.
A lot of us thought they’d be good - or at least a lot better than they’ve shown. And if this turns into a disaster, they need a real reset in the offseason.
When that’s looming, sometimes [general managers] open the doors and take whatever they can get.”
Vacchiano mentioned veteran EDGE Khalil Mack and WR Quentin Johnston as two names that could draw interest. Another executive wasn’t convinced the return would be meaningful.
“They wouldn’t get a lot for them. But that’s what happens when your season goes wrong.”
Still, not everyone around the league thinks Los Angeles is headed toward a sell-off. Reporting from Fox Sports’ Eric D. Williams included skepticism from two league sources who believe it’s unlikely the Chargers would move major pieces.
One longtime NFL scout said he believes head coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz are “fairly loyal” to the players they’ve brought in.
“Harbaugh has been fairly loyal to players he’s helped acquire, and I don’t think the personnel department is any different,” the scout said. “[Khalil] Mack just needs to retire after the season.
Quentin showed inconsistent hands coming out and similar vibes to why Mike Williams wasn’t a long-term player, either. Also, that division as a whole is much improved, so there really is no need to panic … yet.”
Williams also noted that Hortiz has only made minor deadline moves during his three seasons as general manager.
Mack’s name has already surfaced elsewhere in deadline chatter. Last week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter listed him among several possible trade candidates.
The 35-year-old is a former first-round pick by the Raiders in 2014 out of Buffalo. He played out the final season of his four-year, $18,677,002 deal, and the Raiders exercised his fifth-year option. Oakland later sent him to the Bears in a trade that included two first-round picks, and Mack responded with a six-year, $141 million extension that came with $90 million guaranteed.
In 2022, Mack was traded to the Chargers for draft compensation after four seasons in Chicago. Once that deal ran its course, he signed back-to-back one-year, $18 million contracts with Los Angeles for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
This season, Mack has played in four games and posted 14 total tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks.
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