The Chargers’ season has gone off the rails fast, but Justin Herbert isn’t being shown the door.
Los Angeles is 0-5 to open the 2026 NFL season, a stunning start after last year’s campaign. Herbert’s play has been a huge part of that mess, with the star quarterback looking nothing like the steady regular-season force Chargers fans expected. Instead of carrying the team, he’s been at the center of a collapse that has the Chargers staring at a playoff-less year.
Even with all that noise, the organization is not entertaining a Herbert trade. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said he spoke with a “high-level league executive” who called it “really interesting” if the Chargers were to move him, but when Schefter brought that idea to someone inside the team, he got shut down immediately.
He reported, “The person basically cut me off mid-sentence, stopped me in my tracks, and said, ‘Let me be very clear about this. We have never even discussed that idea.
The sentence should we trade Justin Herbert has never once been uttered in our organization, nor will it be.”
For now, the Chargers are moving in a different direction at the quarterback position without touching Herbert. According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Los Angeles is signing veteran Jake Browning ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s still unclear whether Browning will slide in as the clear No. 2 on the depth chart.
Browning brings experience, if not a huge résumé. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound quarterback has thrown for 2,707 career yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He spent his first three seasons in Minnesota, the next four with the Bengals, and most recently was with the Bucs during the 2026 offseason.
There was at least some thought that Herbert’s struggles could spark an even bigger shakeup, especially with the kind of draft capital a trade could bring back. But that possibility doesn’t appear to be on the table.
The Chargers are adding a quarterback. They’re not moving their franchise guy.
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Chargers Add New Justin Herbert Insurance At A Brutal Time
The Chargers have added another quarterback to the room, signing former Bengals backup Jake Browning, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero. For a team built around Justin Herbert, it is the kind of transaction that usually flies under the radar, but at this point in the season every depth move carries a little more weight than usual.
Browning brings some game experience with him, having appeared in 17 career games and thrown for 2,702 yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. What the Chargers do with him next is still being sorted out, since it is not yet clear whether he will land on the active roster or the practice squad. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Trade Idea Would Fix A Big Need And Sting A Rival
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Bleacher Reports Alex Kay floated Khalil Mack as a target, a suggestion that would instantly grab attention around both teams. Mack is on a one-year deal and could be viewed as a manageable rental if the Chargers continue to stumble, which only adds to the intrigue for a division rival looking to patch a need while making life a little more uncomfortable for Los Angeles. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Injury Crisis Is Forcing A Search They Couldn't Avoid
An 0-5 start has already put the Chargers in a corner, and the injury situation has only made the climb steeper. With 18 players on the injury report heading into their Week 5 matchup against the Broncos, the roster has been stretched thin enough that the team has started surveying the market for help, including multiple receivers and quarterbacks with varying degrees of NFL experience and familiarity with the staff.
The searches underscore how quickly the season has turned into a depth test in Los Angeles. The Chargers do not have the luxury of waiting for reinforcements to simply heal in place, so they have been bringing in options to keep the roster functional while the injury list keeps growing. For a team already tied for the worst record in the league, even the most routine workout can carry real weight. [Read more 🡒]