Latest NFL rumors suggest Chargers could shockingly trade away prominent player

It is no secret the LA Chargers need wide receiver help if the team wants to make a playoff run this season. As great as Ladd McConkey has been in his rookie season, the Bolts need to offer Justin Herbert more support.

With several compelling wide receiver names on the trade block, there are multiple avenues the Chargers can take to improve the wide receiver room. Shockingly enough, one potential avenue the Bolts could explore is to actually trade away receiver help at the deadline.

NFL insider Tony Pauline highlighted the obvious in his latest reporting that the Chargers are looking to upgrade at wideout. What's new about Pauline's reporting is the reasoning behind the Chargers' potential WR search. According to Pauline, the Bolts are looking to add wideout help to replace Joshua Palmer, who is not part of the team's long-term plans.

It gets taken a step further, too. According to the report, the Chargers could potentially even trade Palmer at the deadline if the deal made sense for the team.

"The Chargers are looking to replace Joshua Palmer, who is not in the team's long-term plans despite two-and-a-half solid seasons. There is a chance the Chargers attempt to trade Palmer, who is in the final year of his deal. "

Chargers rumors around Joshua Palmer's future truly are shocking

This comes as a big surprise as it seems to go against conventional wisdom for the Chargers to trade away a wide receiver if they are looking to add wide receiver help. However, there is important context missing in this report that is important to factor in.

The odds of the Chargers outright trading Palmer away for draft capital are slim to none. It would only weaken the Chargers' wide receiver room and realistically, the team would not get much for Palmer anyway.

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It makes no sense for the Chargers to trade Palmer for a sixth or seventh-round pick at the deadline. If Palmer ends up leaving in free agency in the spring, the Chargers will likely get a similar compensatory pick in the 2026 NFL Draft anyway. Making this year's offense worse to push that day-three pick-up one year makes no sense.

Instead, the only realm in which it makes sense to trade Palmer is if the Chargers are getting a bigger name in return. With Diontae Johnson now out of the picture, the Chargers have to choose between less-exciting options or hope that a big name, like Tee Higgins, becomes available.

In that situation, the Chargers would theoretically trade draft capital along with Palmer to swing a bigger name to Los Angeles. But that situation is completely dependent on a big name actually becoming available, which is out of the Chargers' control.

So while in theory trading Palmer could be in the realm of possibility, don't expect the former third-round pick to actually be on the move.