The Los Angeles Chargers are the NFL's most disastrous team through the first month of the regular season. They entered the year expecting to seriously compete for a Super Bowl, but instead are one of the five remaining winless teams. And with games against the Broncos, Chiefs and Rams next up on their schedule, it might be another month before the Chargers earn their first win of the season.
At a certain point, the hole they've already dug is going to get too deep for them to dig out of. That's when trade talk begins to heat up. Getting to the playoffs is likely already out of the question for L.A., but the Chargers can still somewhat salvage their season by trading these five players for assets that can help them win in the future at the trade deadline.
EDGE Khalil Mack
The most obvious player to trade is also one of the best players on the team, Khalil Mack. The 13-year veteran is one of the few players actually meeting expectations, having recorded 3.0 sacks, 14 tackles (five for loss) and five QB hits this season. His 79.6 PFF grade is good for 17th out of 110 edge rushers.
Given how well he's played, it might sound crazy to move on, but there's one major reason why it's a no-brainer: his contract. Mack is on a one-year deal, meaning he'll hit free agency after the end of the season. Given the fact that he's 35 years of age, extending him probably isn't the best idea. If anything, they can trade him for draft capital by the deadline, and then explore bringing him back in the offseason if they want him in L.A. that badly. Mack deserves to be on a contending team, and the Chargers are nowhere near being that.
CB Donte Jackson
Not that this is saying much, but Donte Jackson might be the best cornerback on the Chargers right now. He has two passes defended, has forced a fumble, and has yet to allow a touchdown despite already dealing with a concussion and a hamstring injury. With that being said, Jackson is also a 30-year-old on an expiring contract. Why not move him?
Trading him, even for a late-round pick, would be better than losing him for nothing as a free agent. It's clear that this Chargers team needs a complete reset, with their defense, which has regressed spectacularly at the start of this season, being a top priority to shake up. Even if Jackson isn't totally at fault for what's transpiring, changes are needed.
OL Trevor Penning
Much of what's gone wrong for the Chargers offensively can be attributed to their offensive line which, once again, has been banged up on the exterior and extremely subpar on the interior. Trevor Penning was acquired by the Chargers to try to add some serviceable depth to the interior offensive line, but L.A. is learning why the Saints were willing to trade him, a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, to begin with.
Penning has been forced to start at left guard for the Chargers of late, with Trey Pipkins III and Kayode Awosika dealing with injuries, and that has predictably not gone well. Penning's 28.6 pass-blocking grade, according to PFF, is good for 69th out of 74 offensive guards, making him one of the six worst players at his position when his quarterback is trying to throw. Penning won't fetch much of anything in a trade, if the Chargers can even find an interested suitor, but he's on an expiring contract and has not been good. It's time to try something else. If they can't trade him for literally anything, they should probably cut him.
EDGE Bud Dupree
Bud Dupree isn't the double-digit sack guy he was with the Steelers back in the day, but he's been a solid depth piece on the Chargers' defensive line. Just two seasons ago, Dupree had 10 QB hits and six tackles for loss despite only playing in 50 percent of the team's defensive snaps. Well, his production dipped a bit in 2025, and so did his playing time, as he appeared in 41 percent of the Chargers' defensive snaps, and now, Dupree is really an afterthought.
He's appeared in just 27 percent of the Chargers' defensive snaps, the lowest mark of his career by far. The Chargers are obviously pretty stacked on the edge with Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Akheem Mesidor, so it's hard to blame them for not playing Dupree much, but the fact of the matter is he's a 33-year-old on an expiring contract who doesn't provide much of any value. Trading him in a lost season feels like a no-brainer if the Chargers can get a pick in return.
WR Quentin Johnston
For all of the frustration he brought to the Chargers' offense, Quentin Johnston was at the very least semi-productive in 2024 and 2025, as he recorded more than 700 yards in both of those years. This season, though, Johnston has just seven receptions on 19 targets for 108 yards. He's already dropped two passes after dropping two passes all of last season, and just looks out of sync with Justin Herbert.
The first four players on this list are on expiring contracts, but Quentin Johnston's deal doesn't expire until after the 2027 season. That should not matter. He has not been productive. I get that the Chargers lack receiver talent, but trading Johnston for draft capital and using said capital to try and bolster the wide receiver room makes too much sense.
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