After an 0-4 start, it's certainly time to start thinking about what life on the outside of the playoffs looks like for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2026.
This is a team that, entering Year 3 under Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz, was expected to find success. They had cast off their limiting offensive system under Greg Roman, instead hoping for a revival and a maximization of Justin Herbert in Mike McDaniel's West Coast-style scheme.
The Chargers still haven't truly come close to winning a game on the offensive side of the ball—and they're now the second-worst team in the league in terms of EPA/play through nearly a quarter of the season.
Nothing's gone according to plan, and it's difficult to project at this juncture where Los Angeles goes from here. Will they clean house entirely this offseason? Will it be time to move on from Mike McDaniel, and are the Chargers even willing to allow Herbert to continue to develop in a scheme in which there's a clear disconnect with his skill set? These are questions that likely won't receive full answers until the offseason.
In the meantime, though, Los Angeles needs to think about maximizing the assets it has on the roster. Who can it trade without jeopardizing the future of the team? Khalil Mack is the first name that comes to mind, and that's who Jordan Dajani at CBS Sports primarily suggested as a trade candidate in his recent piece breaking down a potential Chargers fire sale.
But the other big name on that list, outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu, simply isn't an option. The Chargers are not a rebuilding team, and starting the 2027 offseason at square one at edge rusher is a move that only a non-competitive organization would be looking to make.
Tuli Tuipulotu needs to get his extension sooner rather than later—but a trade almost certainly isn't an option
If Mack wants to be moved, the Chargers have no choice but to try to find a trade partner before the deadline. Mack returned to Los Angeles on a one-year, $18 million deal in hopes of competing for a Super Bowl before his inevitable retirement. Although it hasn't been confirmed, this almost certainly feels like Mack's final season.
If the Chargers can find him a contender in need of additional pass rushers (like the Chicago Bears or San Francisco 49ers) and retrieve a mid-round pick in the process, it's a deal that could benefit all three parties.
A Tuipulotu trade benefits no one, though, outside of whatever team is lucky enough to get him on its roster.
Tuipulotu broke out last season in Los Angeles, emerging as their most lethal and consistent pass rusher and posting 70 total pressures and 13 sacks while helping anchor a rotation with Mack and Odafe Oweh. The Chargers' pass rush, under Jesse Minter and now Chris O'Leary, depends largely on having three viable edge rushers who can work off of each other in various alignments and put opposing protection plans into conflict. If Los Angeles is out of the playoff picture, losing Mack for the rest of the season certainly puts that in jeopardy for the remainder of 2026.
Losing Tuipulotu, even if it brings back a first-round pick, puts that in jeopardy for the foreseeable future. As solid as Mesidor has looked so far, he's not nearly ready to step into an alpha role—he's amassed just six pressures across four games, and there are still concerns about his long-term abilities as a sack producer.
Let's say Los Angeles trades Tuipulotu. They just used a first-round pick on a pass rusher in this past draft, and it's highly unlikely they do it again given their needs on the offensive side of the ball. If Justin Herbert is on this roster in 2027 (which he will be), this team will still be looking to compete. Can they realistically do that with Mesidor, a Day 2 pick, and maybe Bud Dupree rushing opposing quarterbacks?
It makes sense why a Tuipulotu trade may be explored from a national perspective. He and the Chargers failed to come to an agreement on a deal this offseason that would've likely payed him somewhere north of $25 million annually, and there haven't been any concrete updates on the status of those negotiations.
But unless this team is entering a full-scale rebuild or Tuipulotu forces his way out, there's simply not a world where the Chargers truly explore that option. Look at Mack, Donte Jackson, Quentin Johnston, or even Denzel Perryman instead.
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