The idea of Justin Herbert leaving the Chargers may sound far-fetched, and Los Angeles has made it clear it does not want to go there. But the price tag being floated around the league is eye-popping: three future first-round picks.
That’s the package a rival executive reportedly believes the Chargers could get if they ever decided to shop Herbert, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, as shared by Evan Sidery on X. The same report notes that Los Angeles said it would not consider moving Herbert, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract.
Schefter said on The Adam Schefter Podcast that the executive he spoke with was a high-level league source. When he checked with someone in the Chargers organization, the response shut the door fast: “Let me be very clear about this: we have never even discussed that idea,” they were quoted as saying. They added that it “has never once been uttered in our organization, nor will it be.”
Schefter also said, “While others have debated whether Justin Herbert should be traded, the Chargers have not,”
Tom Pelissero had already reported that the Chargers had no near-term plans to trade Herbert.
The on-field results haven’t helped calm the noise. Los Angeles dropped to 0-5 after a 23-17 loss to Denver in Week 6.
Herbert has completed 59.4% of his passes for 937 yards and five touchdowns, but he also leads the NFL in interceptions through five games. The Chargers have gotten little relief from their receiving group, with no receiver catching more than one touchdown so far, and Herbert was sacked five times against the Broncos as the offensive line issues remained in plain view.
The schedule doesn’t give the Chargers much breathing room, either. They face Kansas City in Week 6 before a Week 7 bye.
Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension in 2023, a deal that runs through 2029 and includes that no-trade clause.
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