The Chargers don’t have to wait until the offseason to start thinking bigger, and that’s exactly why a trade deadline sell-off makes so much sense. With the season gone sideways, Los Angeles has a chance to use the next few days to clean out veterans, collect future picks and stop pretending this roster is closer to contention than it is.
A lot of the conversation will naturally start with Khalil Mack. He’s the obvious name, and for good reason: the veteran pass rusher still carries real value for a contender, even if the Chargers are no longer in a position to use him the way they hoped. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pushed that idea further in a new column, laying out a deal with the Detroit Lions that would send Mack and cornerback Donte Jackson to Detroit in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2027.
Barnwell also raised the possibility that Los Angeles could absorb part of the money both players are still owed to increase the return. As he put it: “They could alternately want to eat some of that money to add more draft capital in a potential trade and think the picks are a better use of the cash than players who would be playing out the string for a hopeless team.”
It’s not a flashy haul, and a fourth-rounder is hardly the kind of return that makes headlines on its own. But Mack is 35, on an expiring contract and was just weighing retirement. The Chargers also don’t have much negotiating power sitting at 0-6 and counting.
Jackson fits the same deadline logic. He’s on an expiring deal, he’s getting older, and he’s the kind of veteran a contender would make a move for if it wants to strengthen the secondary right now.
The payoff for Los Angeles wouldn’t stop with draft capital. Moving those players would also open the door for younger pieces to get real playing time, including Tuli Tuipulotu and rookie Akheem Mesidor off the edge, along with Cam Hart, Tarheeb Still and even Rodney Shelley at corner.
This isn’t the path the Chargers imagined by the bye week. But if they’re serious about what comes next, the trade deadline gives them a clean shot to reshape the roster and improve the long-term picture long before any bigger changes hit the coaching staff or Joe Hortiz’s front office.
In Other News...
Justin Herbert Is Suddenly At Center Of A Chargers Debate
Justin Herbert has become a talking point well beyond Los Angeles, and not because the Chargers have offered any clarity about their plans. The uncertainty around his future has opened the door to outside speculation, with Minnesota already reshaping its quarterback room this offseason after acquiring Kyler Murray and moving on from Sam Darnold. For a Chargers team trying to define its own direction, that kind of noise is hard to ignore.
Herberts production over his first six seasons is exactly why the conversation has taken off. He has been one of the leagues most accomplished passers in that span, which is why any hint of availability would ripple quickly around the NFL. The problem for everyone trying to connect the dots is simple enough: the Chargers have not said what comes next, and until they do, the league will keep guessing. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Harbaugh Just Got Public Backing As Chargers Pressure Mounts
The Chargers winless start has put Jim Harbaugh squarely in the spotlight, but one of his longtime supporters is still sounding calm about the bigger picture. Los Angeles is 0-6 and one of just two NFL teams without a victory, yet Biff Poggi offered public backing for Harbaugh while acknowledging the rough hand the coach has been dealt, from injuries to a schedule that has not offered much breathing room.
The real test comes after the Week 7 bye, when the Chargers are staring at a brutal stretch that could deepen the hole before it has a chance to heal. With the Rams, Texans and Ravens waiting next, the season already feels like it is arriving at a pressure point, and the confidence around Harbaugh will be measured against what happens when the games resume. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Trade Deadline Could Force Joe Hortiz To Admit The Obvious
The Chargers hit their Week 7 bye with a familiar kind of unease, still searching for their first win and staring down a Nov. 10 trade deadline that could force the front office into an uncomfortable reset. Joe Hortiz has plenty to weigh, and the discussion around this roster has already shifted from whether the team can salvage the season to whether it should start thinking about the next one.
Among the names being floated are veterans and ascending pieces who would draw interest if Los Angeles decided to sell, with the conversation centered on how far the team is willing to go in retooling around the future. The biggest question now is whether the Chargers choose to treat the deadline as a chance to keep pushing for stability or finally acknowledge that some of their most useful players may be more valuable in a different timeline. [Read more 🡒]