By admin 
With the Chargers sitting at 0-5 heading into Week 6 of the NFL season, there is virtually no chance at all they will turn things around this year. Perhaps they will start to show incremental improvement as time goes on, but the sands of time have run out on their chances of making the playoffs this winter.
Read more Broncos’ Bo Nix stresses ball security vs. Seahawks’ ‘Dark Side’ defense
Some fans are urging the organization to do a total reset. To them, that not only means firing new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and perhaps even head coach Jim Harbaugh, but also trading franchise quarterback Justin Herbert.
Whether the Chargers will actually consider trading Herbert, however, is a whole different story.
Adam Schefter on whether the organization would actually think about trading Herbert
Adam Schefter, the ESPN NFL insider, was asked on an episode of his podcast if trading Herbert is considered a possibility for the Bolts, and he mentioned a recent conversation he had with an executive who made a big suggestion.
“Last week, I had a conversation with a high-level league executive — very smart — and we were going over a lot of different things around the league. And this person said to me, ‘You know what would be very interesting? If the Chargers traded Justin Herbert for three ones (first-round draft picks).’ … And this person said, ‘Well they could trade him for three ones, they’d have their own one. You now have four ones, and you’d start to rebuild the team.’
“… And I listened to the person and I thought to myself, ‘That’s a really intriguing idea.’ And I thought about it for a couple of days and I’m like, ‘You know what? Let me just ask somebody with the Chargers. Could this even be?’”
But according to Schefter, the Chargers have kept the door shut on that possibility.
Read more SEC media days: Missouri coach standing by Mark Mitchell in eligibility fight
“Called out there, spoke to somebody, and said, ‘Hey, somebody told me this the other day, just want to get your thoughts on it.’ And the person basically cut me off mid-sentence, stopped me in my tracks and said, ‘Let me be very clear on this. We have never even discussed that idea. The sentence “Should we trade Justin Herbert” has never once been uttered in our organization nor will it be.’”
Herbert has been one of the NFL’s most physically gifted and talented quarterbacks ever since he broke into the league in 2020. That year, he set a league rookie record with 31 touchdown passes, and the following year, he logged 5,014 passing yards.
But over the last few years, there has been a nagging feeling that he has been chronically underachieving. The one deficiency on his resume that is often pointed out is his 0-3 record in the playoffs. Granted, the Chargers have never built an excellent team around him that accentuates his strengths, but that stat remains low-hanging fruit for critics.
Through five games this season, Herbert is playing by far the worst football of his pro career. He has completed just 59.4% of his passing attempts and is tied with the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye for the most interceptions with seven. Several of those interceptions have come late in fourth quarters during comeback attempts by Los Angeles.
He has also been sacked 17 times. Some of that is a function of the issues L.A. has on the interior of its offensive line, as well as the injuries that are mounting for that position group.
The chances of the Chargers entertaining a Herbert trade this season or this upcoming offseason seem slim to none. But if next season also goes south, one has to wonder if a total reset could make sense by the spring of 2028, when Herbert will turn 30 years of age.
Read more Ex-Rebels lead No. 13 Missouri into Oxford to face No. 9 Ole Miss
More on the Los Angeles Chargers
- Chargers Worked Out Super Bowl-Winning Wide Receiver on Tuesday
- Los Angeles Chargers Flirt With the One Move Justin Herbert Can’t Endure
- Despite Their Troubles, the Chargers Have an Emerging Stud on Defense
- Jim Harbaugh’s Message of Unity When Asked if He’s Feeling Pressure From the Chargers
Copyright 2026 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published October 13, 2026 at 8:46 PM.