Justin Herbert’s name is back in the trade conversation, and this time the noise is getting loud enough to reach Minnesota.
The Chargers are sitting at 0-7 after getting thumped by the Rams on Sunday, a game in which they managed only 9 points. Herbert’s play has become one of the biggest talking points around the league, and some have even blamed his girlfriend, Madison Beer, for the regression that has defined this season. With the deadline approaching next week, the speculation around his future is only growing.
That’s where the Vikings enter the picture. At 6-1, Minnesota has one of the league’s best defenses, but the offense has been a different story.
After benching and trading JJ McCarthy, the team turned to Kyler Murray, and the passing game has not come together. Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick, has had trouble syncing up with his receivers, leaving that side of the ball as the weak spot on an otherwise strong team.
Insider Albert Breer said Minnesota should at least explore the possibility. “I wouldn’t mind the Vikings taking a swing on this,” Breer said.
“I think the idea of trading for a player like this is similar to trading for Jeffrey Simmons. Jeffrey Simmons wasn’t necessary available.”
Breer went further, making the case that Herbert’s ceiling is still far higher than what the Chargers are getting right now. “I really think that Justin Herbert, there is a top five quarterback in there.
It’s not what I’m seeing, it’s what the rest of the league is seeing,” he added. “In a way, it reminds of the way people talked about Matthew Stafford in Detroit.
… And I do think the Vikings, at the very least… pick up the phone and say, could we offer you three first-round picks for him and just see what they say.”
Three first-round picks would be a steep price for most teams, but the idea is simple enough: put Herbert with the right support, and maybe he looks like a different quarterback. Pairing him with Justin Jefferson would certainly be the kind of move that gets people talking.
Still, ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that Herbert won’t be going anywhere this season. Even so, with the Chargers at 0-7, the question isn’t going away anytime soon.
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Justin Herbert Faces A Bigger Chargers Problem Than Rival Trash Talk
A week after a loss, Justin Herbert found himself answering for more than the Chargers record. Rams safety Quentin Lake took aim at the quarterbacks recent play, and the comments quickly turned into another layer of scrutiny around a season that has already left Los Angeles searching for answers. Jim Harbaugh stepped in to defend Herbert, while Herbert said he had not even been aware of what was said, a reminder that the noise around the team is growing louder than the results on the field.
For Herbert, the larger issue is not a rivals criticism so much as the way the Chargers have looked while staying winless. The conversation has shifted from isolated mistakes to a broader concern about whether the offense is getting enough from its franchise quarterback, and whether the team can stabilize before the outside chatter starts to feel like the easy part of the problem. [Read more 🡒]
Justin Herbert And The Chargers Are Now Getting Mocked By Opponents
The Chargers latest loss only added to the frustration around a season that has gone off the rails, and it also produced an unflattering side note for Justin Herbert. After the Rams beat Los Angeles, Rams safety Quentin Lake had plenty to say about Herberts passing game, turning a routine rivalry result into another reminder of how rough things have become for the Chargers offense.
Herbert finished 24 of 32 for 257 yards, but the numbers came with two interceptions and no touchdowns, and the Chargers remain stuck at the bottom of the league in scoring. For a team already searching for answers at 0-7, getting mocked by an opponent after the fact is the kind of extra sting that tends to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Harbaugh Doubles Down As Chargers Offense Faces Early Pressure
The Chargers are still searching for their first win, and Jim Harbaugh is not making a change at the top of the offense. He confirmed that Mike McDaniel will keep calling plays, a sign the team is sticking with its current structure even as the early-season pressure grows around a unit that has yet to find its footing.
That leaves the focus on execution rather than a shakeup, with the burden shifting back to the players to sort out what has gone wrong. Around the division, the conversation is already turning to other quarterbacks and other fronts, but for the Chargers the immediate question remains whether this offense can settle in before the frustration starts to build even more. [Read more 🡒]