The Los Angeles Chargers are in a position where the team needs to continue marching forward. After making the playoffs in 2024 with an 11-6 record, the team lost in the AFC Wild Card to the Houston Texans and has not really made any significant splashes in Year 2 of coach Jim Harbaugh.
The team has gotten better than they ended the season with the draft and free agent acquisitions, but could be in the process of potentially making a move with the depth at wide receiver. With teams valuing the position and having quality talent at the position, the Chargers could be primed to move one of their players.
Let’s take a look at one player who has been in discussions to potentially be traded away this offseason from the Chargers’ roster.
Quentin Johnston Potentially on the Trading Block?
The Chargers are in a position where they have a lot of wide receiver talent for quarterback Justin Herbert, and the offense continues to look better. However, there could be a move to send wide receiver Quentin Johnston away to bolster the team due to the depth of the wide receiver room. In an article breaking down the potential trade and cut candidates after the NFL Draft, Sterling Xie wrote the following regarding the Chargers:
“Quentin Johnston should be on red alert after the Chargers’ draft activity. The 2023 first-rounder had a much better second season, but the eight touchdowns overstated his impact on the offense.”
It is important to note that after June 1, the Chargers would only have a $1.8 million dead cap hit in each of the next two seasons. Los Angeles already has a wide receiver trio of Mike Williams, Tre Harris, and Ladd McConkey, while they also drafted KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fifth round, making wide receiver a position where they can move off of talent.
Johnston is entering the third year of his rookie contract and has taken a step in the right direction as he finished the 2024 season with 55 receptions on 91 targets for 711 yards (12.9 yards per catch) with eight receiving touchdowns. In the team’s singular playoff game, he was targeted five times but did not make any catches.
A team can value three years of control (including the fifth-year option) of a talented wide receiver who continues to make strides as a capable target. However, with the depth the team has at the position after drafting Harris and Lambert-Smith, it seems like Johnston could be on the way out before the season begins.
It is possible that players like Williams and Johnston are expendable at this point or even the Chargers decide to keep both players, but there is certainly the potential for a move to involve a wide receiver and Johnston provides more value for inquiring teams.