Despite sitting at 5-3 and clinging to the second Wild Card spot in the AFC, the LA Chargers stood pat at this week's trade deadline. That wasn't for a lack of effort or interest in players who were available, however.
The Chargers were reportedly one of the finalists for Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who wound up getting dealt to the Commanders. With Asante Samuel Jr. working his way back from a shoulder injury, Lattimore would have been a perfect final addition to an LA secondary that was gotten solid play from Elijah Molden, Tarheeb Still and Kristian Fulton.
READ MORE: Chargers all but confirm Asante Samuel Jr.'s fate with failed deadline pursuit
While Lattimore would have been a savvy addition, Chargers fans hoped Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz would add another wide receiver for Justin Herbert, who is playing at an ridiculously high level.
While LA ultimately stayed silent, they sniffed around Patriots wideout K.J. Osborn, per the Boston Sports Journal. Osborn could have stepped in as the Bolts' WR4, but Harbaugh and Hortiz were wise to stay away.
Chargers were smart to not trade for Patriots receiver K.J. Obsborn
Frustrated with his role on the Patriots' offense, Osborn made headlines last week when he shared a screenshot of a text message from agent Brandon Abdala on Instagram that essentially congratulated Osborn for how he has navigated a difficult situation.
KJ Osborn shared this on Instagram. Interesting times in Foxborough pic.twitter.com/p98GOy2QpI
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) October 21, 2024
It is important to note that the Patriots are not blameless here. They apparently informed Osborn on Wednesday that he would be inactive for the Week 8 game against the Jaguars only to notify him the night before the game that he would play.
Osborn said he posted the screenshot for motivation - not to convey his frustration and potentially force a trade out of New England.
That is open for interpretation, but it still wasn't a good look for Osborn. While his frustration is understandable, he put head coach Jerod Mayo in a difficult spot.
Young Patriots receivers DeMario Douglas and Ja'Lynn Polk have also expressed their frustration over a lack of touches. As the veteran in the room you would expect Osborn to lead by example. That's no to dismiss his frustration or imply he's a bad teammate, but nothing good can from posting a cryptic text message from an agent to social media.
It stands to reason that Osborn would have been happy to get out of New England. While the Chargers - and most notably Herbert - could have benefitted from adding Osborn, we don't blame Harbaugh and Hortiz for staying away from a messy situation.
The team's culture is in a great spot right now. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future to give Herbert more help at receiver.