The NFL trade deadline brought fireworks to the NFC South after the disappointing Trevor Penning experiment. After getting no result, the New Orleans Saints shipped their offensive lineman to the Los Angeles Chargers mere hours before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
Dec 8, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view of a Los Angeles Chargers helmet against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Dec 8, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view of a Los Angeles Chargers helmet against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
The trade capped a busy Tuesday for the Saints, who also sent wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to Seattle earlier in the day. With this last-minute wild move, they are kind of done chasing this season.
Instead of holding onto expiring contracts, the Saints traded players to stockpile draft picks rather than wait for compensatory selections next spring.
Saints Trade OL Trevor Penning to Chargers for 2027 Sixth-Round Pick
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news Tuesday afternoon, reporting that the Saints traded OL Trevor Penning to the Chargers for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Trade comp: Saints traded OL Trevor Penning to the Chargers for a 2027 sixth-round pick. https://t.co/2bzaHgzzaI pic.twitter.com/nLFlfNr6gj
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2025
The Saints drafted Trevor Penning 19th overall in 2022, but he never lived up to his first-round billing. The Northern Iowa lineman spent his career bouncing between positions.
He played left tackle initially and moved to right tackle in 2024 when the Saints drafted Taliese Fuaga. This season, he moved again — this time to left guard — following the addition of Kelvin Banks Jr.
Penning started all 17 games at right tackle last year and opened six games at left guard in 2025. The Saints declined his fifth-year option, setting him up to become a free agent after the season. That contract status made him an easy trade piece.
For the Los Angeles franchise, this is a desperation play. The Chargers lost star left tackle Rashawn Slater to a season-ending injury during training camp, then watched rookie Joe Alt suffer a season-ending ankle injury last weekend. Backup Bobby Hart also went down hurt in Week 9, leaving the offensive line in shambles.
The Chargers sit second in the AFC West and hold a Wild Card spot with eight games to go. Protecting quarterback Justin Herbert is the main focus heading into Week 10. With the offensive line dealing with injuries, Penning’s ability to play both tackle and guard gives the team much-needed flexibility.