The Los Angeles Chargers knew a 0-2 start was about to turn into a nightmare, but the fallout might be worse than they imagined.
Justin Herbert is still the franchise quarterback in L.A. Nobody inside the building is saying otherwise. But another loss or two could change how the rest of the league looks at them.
While faith in Herbert remains ironclad internally, NFL Insider Tom Pelissero points out that if this slide continues into a deeper hole like 1-5 or 0-6, rival front offices are going to start circling like vultures.
Justin Herbert Trade Calls Won’t Be Surprising: Insider
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, NFL Insider Tom Pelissero broke down why a free-falling record changes the math and makes calls to the Chargers’ front office all the less surprising.
“Right now, the LA Chargers are 0-2. You look at their upcoming schedule: if they’re 1-5 or 0-6, I don’t think they’ll trade Justin Herbert, but you can bet they’re going to get calls about Justin Herbert because why not,” Pelissero said.
“Bad teams: if you’re having a bad season, people are going to sit there and try to take advantage of you and go after your good players. That’s where the way the season plays out is going to determine a whole lot of different things, and the more quarterbacks get hurt, the more the price might go up.”
0-2 is still not a strong enough basis for trade rumors over their franchise quarterback, and even Herbert knows it. The same 0-2 start brought hot seat rumors and doubts on Jim Harbaugh’s leadership, but Herbert shut them down before the reporter even had a chance to finish the entire question.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of vocal leadership at all. So, I’m going to stop you right there and say that it’s very present,” Herbert said in his press conference on Wednesday. He knows no major move in coming over a rough September.
However, it just heightens the stakes for their Week 3 and Week 4 games that much. The Chargers can still defend themselves as a two-loss team if they make a comeback. They can’t fight as a four-loss team this early in the season.
Chargers Schedule Looks Daunting
If that does happen, the Bolts will go down a terrible five- or six-loss spiral. Their upcoming schedule looks tough enough for that to turn to reality in about four weeks.
Their next opponents are the Buffalo Bills, led by arguably the best quarterback in the league right now, Josh Allen.
Next up are the Seattle Seahawks, who are also on a hot 2-0 streak, followed by the Broncos, the Chiefs, and the Rams. In the offseason, Harbaugh’s squad would supposedly have a real shot over them.
But the severe flaws in the offense that the first two weeks brought to the surface flipped the entire prediction surrounding the Bolts.
The discussions now switch to whether they’ll pull off even one win.
When a team is down that bad, rival front offices want to know if a foundational piece could somehow become available. Offers with massive draft capital will be the next step to see if they’ll blink.
Chargers’ 0-2 Start Opens Door to Uncomfortable Justin Herbert Trade Rumors