Chargers GM Joe Hortiz casually owns Tom Telesco with latest comments

After a decade of Tom Telesco running the show, the LA Chargers have entered a new era with GM Joe Hortiz now leading the way alongside Jim Harbaugh. Hortiz came over from one of the most successful franchises in the sport, the Baltimore Ravens, and is looking to change the culture of the franchise.

The desire to change the culture has already led Hortiz to make a controversial move that was not welcomed by the fanbase. The Chargers traded Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick after failed contract discussions that, according to Hortiz, included the team offering Allen an extension.

Hortiz has made it clear that he is not going to operate like Telesco now that he is the general manager of the Chargers. In fact, Hortiz directly said as such in his first media availability after the Allen trade on Thursday.

Hortiz talked about the strategy of trading for players during the season and bolstering the roster that way. In sharing his thoughts, Hortiz directly mentioned how the Chargers haven't done this in the past, and that it is something he believes in (h/t Eric Smith, Chargers.com).

"I know in the past there haven't been a lot of additions during the season with trades but that's something I believe in. If you have a chance to trade for a good player midseason that helps your team win this year, and you can potentially extend and create value for going forward, I think you have to give yourself that flexibility going forward."

Joe Hortiz' casually owns Tom Telesco's old logic with the Chargers

Not trading for in-season help has been a point of contention for Chargers fans for many, many years. Telesco only made one trade for in-season help and it was at the very beginning of his tenure and it was for a back-end roster linebacker. It did not really make any kind of difference.

There were plenty of times when the Chargers could have traded for in-season help that may have changed the direction of the season. Whether it be from injuries, or pure lack of depth in certain areas, the Chargers have had glaring weak spots on the roster in recent years that could have been filled by cheap trade targets.

If the Chargers were a bad team through and through then obviously there would be no point in trading for in-season help. But with Justin Herbert under center you always have a chance, so the Bolts adding some help for a day-three pick actually makes a lot of sense.

What made this logic even more frustrating was the fact that Telesco had no problem wasting day three picks on prospects whom he would quickly cut ties with. The Chargers selected Max Duggan in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft solely to be a camp body. He was cut before the season. Using a seventh-round pick for that was fine, but trading it in-season for help was always too much of an ask.

Thankfully, Hortiz obviously has a much different thought process about how to handle assets and improve the roster during the season. Hopefully, that will result in a bright future for the Chargers.