Chargers general manager 'listening and looking' ahead of NFL trade deadline

Chris Roling | Oct 3, 2024

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz during the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz is four games into his tenure with the franchise in that role and isn’t holding back. 

That applies to his willingness to make bold roster moves and openness with the media. 

In his first public meeting with reporters in months, Hortiz had a blunt response when asked about the possibility of trades at the upcoming deadline in November. 

According to the Los Angeles Times’ Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Hortiz admitted the team will “always be listening and looking” at things like the deadline. 

“If it’s the right opportunity that makes sense for our roster and for our future,” Hortiz, according to Teaford. “For right now and for the future.”

That’s what fans have come to expect from Hortiz, whose long tenure in Baltimore with the Ravens was peppered with plenty of success. He was at the controls for this offseason’s big moves, too, whether it was drafting that Joe Alt-led infusion of talent or being willing to do something as bold as trading away a franchise legend like Keenan Allen. 

Looking ahead, the Chargers want to win right now, so if the onslaught of offensive line injuries doesn’t slow, perhaps that’s one avenue the team could take at the deadline. If things were to go dramatically in the other direction, perhaps Hortiz and Co. would consider selling at the deadline. There is a soft reset going on as the program retools under Jim Harbaugh, after all—hence, the team practicing during the bye week.