The Los Angeles Chargers are staring at another trade deadline where the smartest move is also the most obvious one: move on from Khalil Mack.
That, of course, would require the Chargers to get out of their own way - and this year, that has not been their specialty. The team has shown little interest in making major changes, even with the possibility of dropping to 0-8 at the deadline. Justin Herbert trade rumors are not part of the conversation, but just about everyone else should be.
Mack is the name that makes the most sense. He is an expiring contract, a future Hall of Famer, and still productive enough to draw real interest. Even in a Chargers season that has gone sideways, he has three sacks and five tackles for loss while working in a rotation.
Still, Mack doesn’t sound eager to go anywhere.
"Yeah, they know how I feel, man," Mack said this week, according to The Athletic's Noah Furtado. "It’s just tough with all the outside noise.
And so, ultimately, I want to be here, and I want to help them win. Even though it’s tough right now, you always see the light at the end of the tunnel."
That stance matters, and the Chargers would be within their rights to respect it. But if they ignore the deadline entirely, it would fit a pattern that has already defined this season.
The list of self-inflicted problems keeps growing: not giving Mike McDaniel the speed and personnel he needs to run his system, once again failing to fix the interior offensive line, sitting on more than $20 million in free cap space in November while winless, holding onto struggling “bargains” like Quentin Johnston, and not getting enough out of first-round pick Omarion Hampton after taking a running back in the first round.
All of it has added up to what may be the worst outright roster in football, with the Chargers currently holding the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.
Keeping Mack would be another questionable call, even if the return wouldn’t be huge. From the outside, it doesn’t sound like he wants out, and there have been similar rumblings before with other teams. If he stays, that’s one thing.
But if the Chargers are sitting at 0-8 and a contender such as the Chicago Bears pushes the offer high enough - say a fourth-round pick or a little better - then they’d be foolish not to take it. That would give them an asset in return and send Mack to a team with a real shot at a Lombardi Trophy.
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Chargers Could Be Getting Two Veteran Reinforcements Back Soon
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Njoku and Perryman each arrived on one-year deals and had already been part of the Chargers 2025 season before landing on injured reserve, so their return would add experience to two spots that can always use it this time of year. For a team trying to stabilize its roster down the stretch, the timing matters, and the next few weeks will show whether both veterans can get through practice and make it all the way back onto the field. [Read more 🡒]