The Los Angeles Chargers, to whatever degree it's ultimately feasible, need to be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline.
That doesn't mean it's time to completely tear down this roster. Justin Herbert is obviously staying in the fold, and it feels likely that both Derwin James Jr. and Tuli Tuipulotu should stick around as well—although both made the top-10 on Daniel Popper's recent trade deadline big board for The Athletic.
Instead, the Chargers should be looking to retrieve mid and late-round draft capital for players who likely won't be on the roster next year. Sure, a couple of fourth, fifth, or sixth-round selections won't fix this team, but Joe Hortiz, at the very least, has shown an acumen for making sharp moves in the draft. One of those picks could allow the Chargers to move up in a key spot, or they could be leveraged to provide further depth to a roster that needs optionality.
Either way, the market needs to be explored on players like Donte Jackson, Dalvin Tomlinson, David Njoku, Khalil Mack, and Kimani Vidal. And the Indianapolis Colts' decision to start their fire sale yesterday means the clock is now ticking for Los Angeles.
Chargers need to identify themselves as sellers sooner rather than later as trade deadline approaches
We still have just under two weeks between now and the trade deadline, which looms on Nov. 10. But interim Colts GM Ed Dodds was smart to get out ahead of the melee with his team having clearly revealed itself as being non-competitive this season.
In the span of a single day, he dealt Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection, and he dealt DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth. Both players are on expiring deals, and both are on the wrong side of 30. Regardless of what you think about the value retrieved in these trades, it's likely that neither player was returning to Indianapolis this offseason as the organization begins a hard reset.
The Colts might not be done, either. There's a chance star running back Jonathan Taylor gets traded, and it's possible that both Josh Downs and Sauce Gardner are also on the board as trade candidates. But by getting out ahead of the rest of the league's sellers, the Colts were able to be the first team to meet the needs of a pair of NFC West contenders.
Now, unless the Chargers are interested in moving James or Tuipulotu, they don't have anyone available that can compete with those pieces in terms of immediate rental value. But if they do ultimately decide to sell, they'll be left competing with the league's other bottom-feeders—including the Miami Dolphins, Tennesse Titans, Washington Commanders, and perhaps even the Philadelphia Eagles—to retrieve top value for their potential assets.
There are a finite amount of needs in the NFL currently, and the sooner they begin to receive and seriously consider trade calls, the better position they'll be in when it comes to maximizing the value of their roster. But Hortiz, according to reports from both the Ringer's Tom Pelissero and ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, has continued to publicly indicate that the Chargers are standing pat at the trade deadline.
It's worth assuming, at this point, that this is merely a show of confidence in the team and that Hortiz will relent at some point on this stance. Los Angeles is 0-6, and any hope of postseason play has already gone out the window.
But with just under two weeks until the trade deadline, it's also worth wondering—if Hortiz is going to start selling, wouldn't now be the time to do it?
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