Everybody loves a trade. Whether it’s before the season or during the season, trades get players and fans excited. There’s also a recurring theme whenever a team pursues a trade for a player: they’re going all in on this season. The Miami Dolphins have seemed to do just that this offseason by trading for star corner Jalen Ramsey. The Los Angeles Chargers already seemed to go all in with how much they spent in free agency last year. Could they go all in again with trades this year? Here are three potential trade candidates they could make a move for before kickoff.
Honorable Mention
Former Chargers TE Hunter Henry (86) – Harry How/Getty Images
New England Patriots TE Hunter Henry
Before I begin, I want to have some fun. I doubt this will happen, but as a Chargers fan, I would love it if they traded for Henry. He only played one season with Justin Herbert in his rookie year in 2020. Even with a rookie under center, Henry had a good year with 813 receiving yards and four TDs. After that, the Chargers decided not to resign him, and he signed with the New England Patriots. In his first season there, he had a great year with 603 yards and a career-high of nine TDs. However, he dropped off last year with just over 500 yards and a measly two TDs.
My article on the Chargers’ offense mentioned TE being their only weakness. If the Chargers trade for him, that would immediately become a strength. Henry would play a prominent role in new OC Kellen Moore’s offense. Moore’s style of playcalling fits perfectly with big-type TEs who can block and run routes. As good as Everett is, I think Henry fits the scheme better. This year’s draft class was loaded with TE talent, and I was shocked the Chargers didn’t pick one. They could make up for it by bringing back Henry with a trade.
Now on to the actual trade possibilities. They are being listed by how aggressive a move it would be.
Potential Trade Candidates
Bills DE Shaq Lawson (90) – Nick Wojton/BillsWire
Buffalo Bills DE/OLB Shaq Lawson
Originally, I was going to go with A.J. Epenesa as he would be more versatile and able to move inside. However, after putting more thought into it, Epenesa would probably cost a higher draft pick and is also going into the final year of his contract. This would mean he would likely want a high contract extension. Shaq Lawson is on the older side, going into his 8th season, and would probably cost a lower draft pick than Epenesa. If I were to venture a guess, I would say he would cost either a 4th or 5th-round draft pick.
I think this deal would be possible because the Bills are loaded on defense. Von Miller’s injury is the only reason this deal would not happen. The injury might make them hesitate to make the deal. If he recovers, though, the Bills will have Miller, Greg Rousseau, and Epenesa to rotate, plus good depth behind them. I don’t think they would miss Lawson much. Lawson also makes sense because his cap hit is only a little over $1 million. That is very affordable, and then the Chargers would decide if they want to resign him or not. It would be a low-risk, high-reward type of deal.
Jets RB Michael Carter (32) – Elsa/Getty Images
New York Jets RB Michael Carter
Personally, I would prefer more of a bruiser type of back. However, that is for the short term, and you have to think about the long term as well when making these moves. Michael Carter is a tough runner who can gain some yards after contact. In 2021, he had 345 yards after contact and 13 broken tackles. That might not seem like much compared to the leader that year, Jonathan Taylor, but Carter also had less than half the carries and a worse o-line than Taylor. Plus, we don’t need Carter to be Taylor; we need him to get the short yards in those situations.
Austin Ekeler is a great back, but he has trouble getting first downs on 3rd or 4th and short. Carter would get those for us. Also, Carter still has two years left on his rookie contract. That would mean we would still have him next year to pair with Isaiah Spiller, who would hopefully have developed into the runner we expect by then. After this season, we’ll likely lose both Ekeler and Joshua Kelley in free agency, so having Carter for two years would be a big help. He can also block well and catch out of the backfield.
Since the RB market is so looked down on in this generation of the NFL, I think it would cost a 5th or 6th rounder to acquire him in a trade. Very doable, and unless Kelley can stay healthy or Spiller develops this year, I think getting another RB is a must, and Carter would be a good fit and complement to Ekeler.
Cowboys S Malik Hooker (28) – David Helman/Dallas Cowboys Staff Writer
Dallas Cowboys S Malik Hooker
This would be the big move that I believe could push this defense over the hump. Right now, we have Derwin James as our only reliable safety to cover over the top. Alohi Gilman did well last year, but there’s no guarantee he’ll continue that into this year. JT Woods, whom we drafted last year, couldn’t get on the field, and we don’t know how long he can get used to Staley’s complicated system. My last article on the Chargers’ defense talks about how Staley can’t utilize James’ versatility because he’s forced to play him deep. That would change with Hooker on our roster.
The chances of this happening are unlikely for two reasons. First, Hooker would cost a 2nd or 3rd rounder. That is draft capital we could need with Herbert’s contract extension just over the horizon. The second reason is that the Cowboys use Hooker a lot. They have two other great safeties in Donovan Wilson, who just signed a three-year extension, and Jayron Kearse, yet Hooker plays about the same amount of snaps as them since Cowboys DC Gus Bradley uses a lot of three-safety sets. If the Chargers trade for Hooker, though, he would be just what they need.
Any of these trade scenarios are unlikely, especially with how conservative GM Tom Telesco is, but they technically are possible. They all could help improve this team as a whole. The questions are, are any of them enough to win the big one and are they even worth it? Let’s see what Staley and Telesco do to get this Chargers team and Herbert the Super Bowl they deserve.
