The Los Angeles Chargers’ rough start has already pushed them into an uncomfortable conversation: what happens if this season keeps slipping away? At 0-2 against the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders, the team is suddenly showing up in trade chatter, and one familiar name has landed near the top of the discussion.
Bleacher Report recently put together a list of veterans who could be available before the NFL trade deadline, and Khalil Mack came in at No. 6. The edge rusher has been with the Chargers since they acquired him before the 2022 season, and in that time he’s become one of the team’s most important voices while also helping drive the Chargers to multiple playoff appearances, even if those runs ended in heartbreak.
Mack’s production is part of why he’s drawing attention. He has 37.5 sacks with the Chargers, and that kind of pass-rushing resume is exactly what can get contenders interested when the deadline starts creeping closer.
“Edge-rusher Khalil Mack will be a logical trade chip if the Chargers slide out of contention,” B/R's Kristopher Knox wrote. “He's 35, is playing on a one-year deal, and is still valuable as a rotational pass-rusher. Mack has recorded a sack, two tackles for loss, and four quarterback pressures this season.”
Knox projected Mack’s trade value as a conditional 2027 4th-round pick and pointed to the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions as possible landing spots.
The Bears make sense for obvious reasons: Mack has already spent plenty of time there, and Chicago is looking for a pass rusher who can bring more than a motivated Dayo Odeyingbo. The Lions are also in the mix because they need another presence opposite Aidan Hutchinson, and if Detroit gets back to its 2024 level, Mack could fit as a piece that helps push Dan Campbell’s team deeper into the postseason.
That leaves the Chargers with a decision that goes beyond simple roster management. They could move a franchise legend and let him chase a Super Bowl while bringing back an asset for the future. Or they could keep him in the building, value what he means to the locker room, and hold out hope that the season can still be salvaged.
However it plays out, general manager Joe Hortiz is staring at a choice that could shape how Chargers fans judge him for a long time.
In Other News...
Joe Hortiz Is Facing A Chargers Question Fans Can't Ignore
The Chargers offensive line problems have gone from a nagging issue to one of the defining frustrations of the 2025 season, and Justin Herbert is paying the price every week. Injuries and uneven play up front have left him under constant pressure, with the kind of protection issues that can turn a promising offense into a scramble drill, and the roots of the problem trace back to a roster-building approach Joe Hortiz brought with him from Baltimore.
Hortiz has leaned on low-cost, low-replacement-value interior linemen, a philosophy that can work only if the margins are right and the depth holds up. Instead, recent decisions like the short-term signing of Mekhi Becton and the choice not to re-sign Zion Johnson have only sharpened the question facing the front office: whether the Chargers can keep asking Herbert to operate behind this kind of line and still expect the offense to function the way it should. [Read more 🡒]
Justin Herbert Could Finally End The Chargers' Early Offensive Frustration
Justin Herbert and the Chargers are heading into Week 3 with a chance to shake off the early offensive frustration that has hung over the start of the season. The matchup with Buffalo brings the kind of test that can quickly tell you whether Los Angeles is finding its rhythm or still searching for it, and Herberts arm is at the center of that conversation.
The expectation in this one is that Herbert can put together a big passing day and help push the offense into a more comfortable place after an uneven opening stretch. It is still just a prediction, but it has the feel of the sort of game that could change the tone around the Chargers quickly if Herbert finds his timing and the passing game starts clicking. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Already Facing An Ugly Early Conversation After 0-2 Start
Two games into the season, the conversation around the Chargers has already turned from optimism to skepticism. The early losses have triggered plenty of criticism about how the team is playing, how it is being coached and whether the roster has been built to hold up over a full season, with some outside voices even floating the idea of the club ending up in the draft-pick conversation.
For a team that entered the year hoping to build momentum, the problem is not just the record but the tone around it. The Chargers have been forced into an early round of questions about cohesion and effectiveness, and the only real way to quiet them is the one thing that matters most in September: start winning games. [Read more 🡒]