With the Dolphins beating the Jets in Week 7, the Chargers are the NFL’s only winless team. After consecutive playoff berths, the Bolts have gotten off to one of the most disappointing starts of any team this decade. Naturally, trade calls are coming in.
Teams continue to contact the Chargers as a potential deadline seller, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes. While Fowler and ESPN colleagues Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter continue to indicate the team is not planning to deal away pieces and is trying to win, that message — with the team 0-6 and in an alarming funk on offense — is unlikely to offer buyers much true confirmation no one is available.
This is new territory for Jim Harbaugh, who entered the season 5-for-6 in playoff qualification as an NFL head coach. Even Harbaugh’s lone non-playoff-bound team (the 2014 49ers) was 4-3 at that year’s trade deadline. Being a seller may not align with Harbaugh’s mantra, but with his team winless after its bye, the postseason is almost definitely out of reach. Thus, suitors will continue to pursue L.A. options.
Khalil Mack has come up as a trade chip on a few occasions this season, and Rapoport and Schefter indicate interest is expected in the 35-year-old edge rusher. The duo mentions the Bears, who have come up previously about a reunion, as an interested party.
Mack is tied to a one-year, $18MM deal, but only $8MM is tied up in base salary. Around the deadline, an acquiring team would only be responsible for roughly $4MM the rest of the way. That would be a workable rate for a team considering Mack’s talent. The 13th-year EDGE has three sacks and six QB hits this season.
Charger wide receivers are also drawing interest, according to Casino Guru News’ Jason La Canfora. The Bolts have interesting WR pieces in Ladd McConkey, Tre Harris and Quentin Johnston. McConkey being moved would surprise, as he formed an immediate connection with Justin Herbert and operates as the team’s top playmaker. The Chargers have kept Johnston out of trades this year, though rumors have emerged involving the former first-round pick, and they picked up his $18MM fifth-year option for 2027 this offseason. It would be interesting to see if the Bolts were willing to pay down part of Johnston’s option salary to facilitate a deal. A 2025 second-round pick, Harris is signed through 2028.
L.A. has shut down Justin Herbert trade inquiries, though the talented quarterback would obviously bring the biggest return. Tuli Tuipulotu is also unlikely to be dealt, but the contract-year pass rusher has been mentioned in trade rumors.
Harbaugh regularly offers Derwin James effusive praise, and the Bolts gave the All-Pro safety a record-setting three-year, $75.6MM extension this offseason. That through-2029 contract includes fully guaranteed 2027 compensation. James being tied to this contract by Day 3 of the 2027 league year would bring a $13.5MM guarantee on his 2028 compensation. Even at 30, James would command a nice trade haul, and La Canfora again mentions the prospect of the ninth-year vet moving.
If the Chargers cannot show signs of life soon, they will be effectively cornered into a position where they risk not collecting assets when draft capital is in play. They are one of the teams to closely monitor before the November 10 deadline.