The Los Angeles Chargers have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 NFL season. LA is one of three teams to start 0-5, falling well short of their playoff expectations. Nobody knows what the future holds for the organization, which has caused some fans to speculate about a full blown rebuild. But one Chargers player is absolutely not for sale.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reportedly asked the Chargers about potentially trading QB Justin Herbert. LA made it abundantly clear that they never plan to trade Herbert.
“Called out there, spoke to somebody… The person basically cut me off mid-sentence, stopped me in my tracks, and said: ‘Let me be very clear about this: we have never even discussed that idea. The sentence ‘Should we trade Justin Herbert?' has never once been uttered in our organization, nor will it be,'” Schefter said on Tuesday via The Adam Schefter Podcast.
The Chargers won't trade Herbert, but these three NFL teams should still try to acquire him anyways.
Justin Herbert could bring stability to the Falcons, make them NFC contender
This is nothing personal against Michael Penix Jr. He just isn't as good of an option as Herbert.
One reason why the Falcons made the aggressive decision to draft Penix in the first place was to finally solve the quarterback position after Matt Ryan. A Herbert trade would make that a reality.
Atlanta is actually one of the few teams in the NFL that could actually afford to take on Herbert's contract. According to the salary cap calculator at Over The Cap, Atlanta could acquire Herbert today and still have $5.23 million in cap space. What's more impressive is that they would still have $72.55 million in cap space in 2027 and $118.94 million in 2028.
The Falcons already have several talented players on rookie contracts. Beyond that, key players like Bijan Robinson and Drake London are already locked up into the future. Adding a franchise quarterback like Herbert (who would only be 32 years old when his current contract expires in 2030) with that kind of infrastructure in place would be incredible for the Falcons.
Kevin Stefanski could build the Falcons into an NFC juggernaut with Herbert at quarterback over the next four years. It's too bad it most likely won't happen in real life.
The Vikings need a long-term solution at quarterback to complete their roster
Minnesota has one of the most feared defenses in the entire NFL. They also have a great coaching staff and one of the league's best wide receivers in Justin Jefferson. But their lack of consistent quarterback play is holding the franchise back.
The Vikings are 5-0 on the season despite the turbulence at the quarterback position. So it is easy to imagine how good they could become if they added a franchise guy like Herbert.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell loves to run the football and would not put too much stress on Herbert to win games all by himself. It is easy to imagine Herbert living up to his full potential in Minnesota, especially when guys like Carson Wentz and Kyler Murray have been stacking wins.
From a financial perspective, adding Herbert would not be easy. But just a handful of roster moves could make it work and turn the Vikings into a truly dangerous team in the NFC.
Would the Steelers immediately become an AFC superpower by adding Justin Herbert?
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There's a lot to like about the current iteration of the Steelers. All they are missing is a franchise quarterback who they can build around for the future.
Jaylen Warren is enjoying an electric breakout season and the defense is stacked with talent, even without Joey Porter Jr. A young franchise quarterback could elevate all of these parts and finally make the Steelers a feared franchise once again.
Obviously the biggest obstacle to this trade actually going down would be Aaron Rodgers. There's simply no way that Rodgers would accept another franchise quarterback joining the Steelers while he is still on the team. That is doubly true of a guy like Herbert, who would require a huge blockbuster trade to acquire.
That being the case, any hypothetical Herbert trade would need to happen during the 2027 offseason. Or run the risk of creating a huge media circus with Rodgers, whether or not he stays on the team.
Unfortunately, waiting until the 2027 offseason may not be soon enough to capitalize on Pittsburgh's current roster. It also doesn't make sense from a salary cap perspective. So it is probably best for the Steelers to simply try their odds in the 2027 NFL Draft.