The LA Chargers were never going to fix the right tackle problem with a trade

Bryan Bulaga has played just one half of football this season for the LA Chargers as he was taken out at halftime in Week 1 against the Washington Football Team. Storm Norton was given right tackle duties after that and while he started off on a decent foot, it has gone downhill for the former XFL standout.

Norton has been one of the worst right tackles in the entire league and it is hindering the Chargers' offense. The Bolts have not been able to get the kind of deep looks that Justin Herbert is so great at. While a lot of fans blame the playcalling, it does not help that he is constantly pressured from the right side.

Per Pro Football Focus, Norton has allowed a whopping 32 pressures in 294 pass-blocking snaps this season. That is an absolutely horrendous number and only two players in the league have allowed more pressures. Austin Jackson (33) and Matt Nelson (34) are the only tackle worse than Norton but they both have played more snaps.

It is obvious that this is a problem for the LA Chargers and some fans were hoping that the team would address the problem with the NFL trade deadline. The Bolts ultimately did no such thing as the team did not make a single trade at the deadline.

While it is okay to be frustrated about the team not making other moves (and not trading for specific players who were traded), expecting the team to trade for a right tackle was wishful thinking that was never going to come true.

The LA Chargers were never going to address the right tackle problem via trade.

In a perfect world, the LA Chargers would have traded for someone who could play right tackle but you have to look at the rest of the market and consider the other teams' point of view. Why would a team trade a starting-caliber right tackle in-season for a draft pick?

There was a grand total of one offensive lineman traded during the NFL trade deadline and it was Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a depth-level guard. No tackles, not even backup ones.

It is hard to convince a team, even a bad one, to trade a starting tackle. While you could make the case that bad teams should want to sell all assets said teams still want to protect their quarterback and have some sort of roll-over in the offensive line. Starting-caliber tackles are so valuable to have in the league and teams are not just going to give the away.

There was only one potential fit on the market and it was Philadelphia's Andre Dillard, who the team obviously did not want to trade as they were receiving interest. Not only did the Eagles not want to trade Dillard, but Dillard cannot even play on the right side.

The Eagles shuffled the offensive line around to keep Dillard on the left side. Don't think it makes a difference? Look at the difference between Penei Sewell on the right side and the left side.

In the end, it does not even matter, though. The Eagles obviously did not like the market price for Dillard and weren't going to make a move. While it has not been reported that the Chargers were interested in Dillard, we don't have any proof to say that they weren't.

That was always a long shot and the fact remains that the LA Chargers were never going to improve at right tackle via trade. If a tackle gets traded they get traded before the season begins. An in-season trade for a starting-caliber right tackle was simply wishful thinking.