(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports) – LA Chargers
1. The LA Chargers won’t be in a position to buy nor sell
Right now, it is more realistic that the LA Chargers are in a position to be sellers at the NFL trade deadline than it is for them to be buyers at the deadline. The path to becoming sellers is clear: lose the next to games to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos.
At that point, the Chargers would be 1-6 and the playoffs would be completely out of reach. Sure, they could go on a run, but something tells me if you lose to the Jaguars and Broncos then you probably won’t go on a run.
However, that is not going to happen. I feel really good about the Chargers in both of those games and they should win both without much stress to move to 3-4 at the deadline. That still does not put them in a position to buy.
Trades in the NFL are far less frequent than in other professional sports leagues. Part of that is that there is not as much young talent to trade (like prospects in baseball) and the other part is the salary cap implications of trades.
Buyers at the deadline are almost always bonafide Super Bowl contenders. If you are a playoff hopeful, like the Chargers, it simply does not make sense to trade future assets for someone who does not put you over the edge.
You cannot add one person to the LA Chargers and suddenly make them Super Bowl favorites. Now, if they were completely healthy and had a better record you could make that case.
Even if there was a target that makes sense on the Bolts’ roster, there is another reason why the team won’t make a move.