It's certainly no secret that Quentin Johnston hasn't exactly been a fan favorite over the last three years. And that basically started from the moment the Los Angeles Chargers took him in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 21st overall pick.
Heading into that '23 draft, the Bolts were undoubtedly looking for a new target for Justin Herbert, who was coming out of a 2022 season during which he connected on a career-high 68.2 percent of his passes for 4,739 yards and 25 touchdowns. Now, don't get things twisted, as Johnston certainly had the talent to be a first-round pick after earning a pair of First-Team All-Big 12 selections at TCU, but the preferred choice among fans seemed to be Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who ultimately went off the board one pick before LA went on the clock, going to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 20.
JSN, of course, has become one of the top wide receivers in the NFL and recently signed the biggest contract at the position in league history. QJ, meanwhile, simply hasn't lived up to his first-round status. In fact, his 1,877 receiving yards over the past three years are just 84 more than the 1,793 Smith-Njigba posted this past season alone.
Many have called for Johnston to be cut or traded for quite some time now, and as it happens, his name recently came up in the latter category, as he was named as a potential target for the New York Jets.
Quentin Johnston was named as a potential target of the New York Jets
ESPN's Rich Cimini recently wrote a piece looking at some possible prospects for Gang Green heading into the draft, but in the section on wide receivers, he also discussed the possibility of New York making a trade.
And while he didn't do any kind of deep dive into what a trade might look like, he did list Johnston as one of four potential targets.
"Don't sleep on the possibility of [Jets GM Darren] Mougey trading for a veteran," Cimini wrote. "It's already been an active offseason for wide receiver trades, and you're talking about a GM who has made 12 player trades in a little over a year.
"Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars), Rashod Bateman (Baltimore Ravens), Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers) and Dontayvion Wicks (Green Bay Packers) have been mentioned as trade possibilities."
Now, if the Jets were to call, one undoubtedly has to wonder what the Chargers would say. It's pretty clear they're still on the fence about Johnston's future with the organization, as they've yet to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, a decision they'll have to make by May 1.
That option for the 2027 campaign, by the way, would count $16.468 million against the salary cap, and he's simply not worth that right now. Sure, 700-yard seasons are fine for a guy with a $4.514 million cap hit (that's his number for 2026), but not for nearly four times that figure.
The drawback is that the Chargers haven't done anything to address the WR position in free agency, which brings depth concerns, and they only have five picks in the upcoming draft. A trade would fix that, of course, but you get the point.
The Bolts could want to see how Johnston works in Mike McDaniel's system, but they could also want to start fresh with someone else. So, we'll just have to wait and see how things play out.