After the Los Angeles Chargers lost each of their first three games this season, many feel that the season is certain to become a train wreck. The team has a very tough schedule remaining, especially between now and Week 10, and it will face the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on the road on Sunday in Week 4.
The offense is about as high-powered as a 1970s Ford Pinto, and it could become about as disastrous as those Pinto models that erupted in fire after rear-end collisions.
Quarterback Justin Herbert has arguably underachieved over the last few years, but so far this year, he is playing by far the worst football of his NFL career. He has completed just 59.1% of his passing attempts and thrown just three touchdown passes against four interceptions, and he looks out of sorts and out of rhythm.
Granted, new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s scheme has necessitated some changes in Herbert’s mechanics. But there is an increasing chorus among some that perhaps the Bolts should hit the blinking red button and trade Herbert before things get even worse.
Nick Wright: One AFC team could make L.A. an offer it can’t refuse
On “What’s Wright with Nick Wright,” commentator and personality Nick Wright proposed that the New York Jets, a franchise that, like the Chargers, has long been saddled with bad fortune, make a run at Herbert.
“It’s absolutely on the board that the Jets have three Top 12 picks – their own first-round pick, the [Indianapolis] Colts’ first-round pick from the Sauce Gardner trade, and they get to pick Dallas’s first or Green Bay’s first, that Green Bay owes Dallas for Micah [Parsons],” Wright said. “Do I expect at least two of those three teams to be really bad? Yes. If this Chargers’ year goes terrible, if the Jets call up the Chargers and say, ‘We will give you, not future picks, three picks you can use right now.’ And if you’re the Jets, you’re like, ‘Hey, we’re not crippling our ability to compete with Herbert in the future because we’re not trading any future years’ draft picks.’”
Right now, the Jets, Colts, Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers are all 1-2. The Jets will almost certainly finish with one of the NFL’s worst records, the Colts will have a hard time making the playoffs, Dallas’ defense looks weak, even with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. coming in and the Packers are looking like a dumpster fire.
It is hard to imagine McDaniel, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, general manager Joe Hortiz and owner Dean Spanos signing off on a Herbert trade, especially before the Nov. 10 trade deadline. McDaniel’s offense isn’t easy to learn, and there could be a scenario where the team eventually starts thriving within it, especially if it manages to add a true star wide receiver and improves the interior of its offensive line this offseason.
But there are some intriguing quarterbacks expected to be available in the 2027 draft, and there are lots of doubts about Herbert’s ability to deliver in the clutch and during the playoffs. If the Chargers get a Godfather-type offer for Herbert, could they at least entertain it and consider pulling the trigger?
