The Chargers have become open to moving pieces before the trade deadline, but Khalil Mack is still viewed as a long shot to be dealt. That is the shift now, with hours left before the deadline and a 0-8 record that has turned every conversation into a question of what can still be salvaged.
Jordan Schultz said the change came over the past day, and the focus has narrowed to contract-year players. Mack fits the profile as clearly as anyone: he is 35, on a one-year, $18MM deal for a second straight season, and carries an $8MM base salary that would leave an acquiring team on the hook for around $4MM. He has been the kind of player who changes the edge of a defense, a former Defensive Player of the Year and a potential Hall of Famer whose name has already come up in trade rumors.
That makes him the headline name, but he is not the only one. Donte Jackson is on an expiring contract, Tuli Tuipulotu is on an expiring contract, Dalvin Tomlinson is on a one-year deal, and Quentin Johnston was also mentioned among possible trade chips. Schultz said the contract-year group would be the center of the discussion, which is the clearest sign that the Chargers are thinking less about patching a lost season and more about what they can recover from it.
The catch is that interest does not mean movement. The report said the Chargers had received interest on Mack, but he remained a long shot with the deadline at 3pm CT. That is the friction in the story: a team that was not open for business when it reached its bye week at 0-6 is now receptive to selling pieces, yet the biggest name attached to it still may not go anywhere.
For the Chargers, the next decision is simple in form and messy in consequence. If they move Mack, they turn one of the league’s most recognizable veterans into draft capital; if they keep him, they are betting that even a season this poor is not enough to justify parting with a player who still draws calls.
