Why the Chargers Stayed Quiet at the NFL Trade Deadline

The Chargers didn’t make a move ahead of the NFL trade deadline. But why?

Nicholas Cothrel | Nov 3, 2022

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Los Angeles Chargers

COSTA MESA – The Chargers wide receiver group is dealing with a litany of injuries as the team reaches the halfway point of the regular season.

Keenan Allen suffered a setback to his hamstring during the bye week, putting his status in jeopardy for the games ahead. Mike Williams is dealing with a high ankle sprain and will miss a matter of weeks. Joshua Palmer is working his way back from a concussion that sidelined him in the team's last game, and while he's cleared the league's concussion protocol, Chargers coach Brandon Staley was reluctant to say he'll play Sunday against the Falcons. Jalen Guyton has been out since Week 3 following a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season.

With a record of 4-3 as the NFL trade deadline came and gone, the Chargers didn’t make a deal. But why? With the team needing a lift at wide receiver in wake of the mounting injuries, what prevented them from pulling off a trade?

"We were certainly a part of it," Staley said of the activity in the league ahead of the trade deadline. "Nothing materialized, but I thought that we were active, to an extent, and nothing really happened for us that was going to make sense for this season or next. It’s not just this season, it’s the years to come."

There were four wide receivers dealt ahead of the trade deadline, including Robbie Anderson, Kadarius Toney, Chase Claypool and Calvin Ridley. While Staley says they were active players in negotiating potential deals, nothing came together that suited their needs based on the compensation they were willing to part ways with.

Staley emphasized the team's big picture approach, not just configuring the impact that a trade would make for the remainder of this season, but does it make sense for the year's beyond 2022?

"The trade deadline is something that is overblown in the league," Staley said. "Number one, not that many trades happen. There is a lot of hype towards it, but then there are not as many as people think. What you have to do is you have to make moves that make sense for this year, but then, it’s not just this year, it’s future years, too.

"We feel like we have a lot of guys coming back, the guys that you know about; Mike, Joey [Bosa]. Those guys are coming back for us — Keenan, they are coming back for us. These guys aren’t out for the season where, ‘Hey, that would really put us in a tough spot.’ Where, like, ‘They’re not coming back, so, hey, we need to replace them.’ That was our mindset. We were in discussions, like the rest of the league. It just didn’t make sense for us at the time. We feel confident in the guys that we’re going to get back and that we have a lot of time to create the identity for the rest of the season.”

The Chargers are banking on the return from a handful of their star players to come back from injury and provide steady contributions in the second half of the season.

But the factors that are indeed worrisome, is how efficient can the team be during the process while those players are sidelined?

The Chargers have a difficult schedule ahead, going to Atlanta in Week 9, to San Francisco in Week 10 and will host Kansas City in Week 11. Throughout that three-game stretch, many of the players who are currently injured may still be put on the shelf.

Staley also stated that onboarding a player in the middle of the season takes quite the adjustment period. After acquiring a player, there's a process of getting them acclimated to the team's scheme and building chemistry with their new teammates to work in sync with one another.

As the Chargers sat silent at the trade deadline, they'll be forced to tap into their wide receiver depth until the starters return from injury. DeAndre Carter, Jason Moore Jr. and Michael Bandy will be heavily relied on in the weeks ahead.

“We’ll be confident with whoever goes out there that is dressed up," Staley said of the wide receiver group. "We have full confidence in our group. We know all of the guys on our team. We’re going to have to put a good gameplan [together] with the guys who are out there.”

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