Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz insists the front office has zero interest in answering trade calls, but rival front offices around the league are not buying it.
Staring down a winless 0-6 start, a potential offensive play-caller shakeup, and an impending trade deadline, the Chargers have officially reached a tipping point. Even if they manage a few wins down the road, a serious roster change will be the main goal heading into the 2027 offseason.
When they have virtually zero postseason hopes, they have no business holding onto veterans, one 9x Pro Bowler, and another Pro-Bowl caliber, this or the next rebuilding year. They would be much better off with teams who have actual playoff hopes, and who can get them Super Bowl rings before they hang up their cleats.
Chargers Send Khalil Mack and Donte Jackson to Cowboys In Trade Pitch
That’s Khalil Mack and Donte Jackson for the Chargers.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell’s latest trade pitch sees the Bolts trading Mack and Jackson in a blockbuster deal to the Detroit Lions, in exchange for 2027 fourth- and sixth-round picks.
Mack serves as the main prize in the proposal, but Detroit represents the lone contender with desperate voids at both edge rusher and cornerback. That puts the Lions in a unique position as the only squad equipped to absorb both aging contracts off the Chargers’ books in a single stroke.
“Guess who could use an edge rusher and a cornerback? The Lions,” Barnwell explains. “DJ Wonnum has a team-high five sacks as he takes advantage of defenses double-teaming Aidan Hutchinson, but Detroit could certainly use another edge rusher to take some of the workload off its two starters and provide some help if Hutchinson or Wonnum goes down.
“And the Lions are incredibly desperate for cornerback help, given that they’re relying on the likes of Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Rock Ya-Sin and Roger McCreary for meaningful snaps this season. Jackson would be a cut above those players and a viable second option alongside D.J. Reed, who has also struggled so far this season.”
Chargers Can Save Some Salary Cap Too
A fourth- and a sixth-round pick might not be something the Chargers would ideally agree on for players of Mack and Jackson’s caliber, but their current situation is anything but ideal. Mainly, they get an option to save a few million dollars while getting draft capital if they go down the roster rebuild way in the 2027 offseason.
“Both players are free agents after the season, and there’s a decent amount of money involved here. Jackson is owed $4 million over the remainder of the season, while Mack is due $5.3 million. NFL teams don’t necessarily need to cut payroll in a lost season, but the Chargers wouldn’t mind adding draft capital for two players who might not be back next season, especially if they can save millions of dollars in the process,” Barnwell explains.
“They could alternately want to eat some of that money to add more draft capital in a potential trade and think the picks are a better use of the cash than players who would be playing out the string for a hopeless team. In this deal, the Chargers eat about half of the money owed to Jackson and Mack over the remainder of the season, making the midseason cash expenditure more palatable for the Lions.”
It goes without saying that both Mack and Jackson will be better suited in a Detroit squad that is actually going somewhere than a winless Chargers squad that looks like it’s going nowhere so far.
Blockbuster Trade Pitch Sends Chargers 9x Pro Bowler to Lions With Bonus Veteran Asset