EL SEGUNDO — The NFL trade deadline came down to need versus need for the Chargers.
Yes, the Chargers wanted to add a player to a team that has emerged as a playoff contender with a 5-3 record and a second-place finish in the AFC West, according to coach Jim Harbaugh. No, they didn’t necessarily have to add a player to their roster before Tuesday’s 1pm PT deadline.
So the chargers did nothing.
“I don’t think Joe saw where we needed a player at any position,” Harbaugh said Wednesday, referring to Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz. “We love the guys. We’re comfortable in every position group. Then it’s off to a whim. Did we want somebody? Yeah. Did Joe want somebody? Then let Batman do his job.”
Harbaugh often refers to himself as Robin and to Hortiz as Batman.
“That’s the way we do it,” Harbaugh said of the Chargers’ approach to the trade deadline, which featured a number of players moving around the league on Tuesday. “The proof is in the pudding. We like our guys. We like the players on this team and the direction this team is going.”
Conventional wisdom suggested the Chargers needed depth at wide receiver and cornerback, two positions depleted by injuries in recent weeks. But a modest two-game winning streak, with comprehensive victories over the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, indicated that moves were not needed.
Rookie Ladd McConkey’s emergence as a reliable target for quarterback Justin Herbert and Quentin Johnston’s return from an ankle injury made the need to acquire another receiver unnecessary. Plus, McConkey and Johnston had career-best 100-yard receiving games in consecutive weeks.
McConkey had six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns against the saints.
Johnston had four catches for 118 yards and a touchdown against the Browns.
Additionally, veteran DJ Chark appears poised to make his Chargers debut Sunday against the Tennessee Titans after being sidelined by injuries for the first eight games of the season. Having him available to play this coming week would be almost like acquiring a new wide receiver at the deadline.
As for the cornerbacks, rookies Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still have slid seamlessly into the starting lineup following injuries to veterans Asante Samuel Jr. and Christian Fulton. still had his first career interception on Sunday and also deflected a pass into the hands of teammate Elijah Molden for another play.
In the end, wide receiver Mike Williams was traded from the New York Jets to the Pittsburgh Steelers rather than return to the Chargers, who shed him in the offseason in a cost-cutting move. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore was dealt by the Saints to the Washington Commanders.
Undoubtedly, phone calls were made and conducted and due diligence was conducted.
But no agreements were reached.
“I think they have complete confidence in us, trust us that we have the right guys out there, the right pieces,” Herbert said of Harbaugh, Hortiz and the Chargers front office when asked about the team’s inactivity at the deadline. “We really feel like we’re going in the right direction. I think that’s a good sign.”
EXTRA POINTS
The Chargers placed wide receiver Simi Fehoko (elbow) and linebacker Junior Colson (ankle) on injured reserve. They were injured on Sunday. The Chargers also signed wide receiver Jalen Reagor to the active roster from the practice squad, released tight end Eric Tomlinson and then signed him to the practice squad. …
Additionally, the Chargers also signed linebacker Shaquille Quarterman to the practice squad and released tight end McCallan Castles from the practice squad. Quarterman appeared in the Chargers’ first three games of the season and also played once with the Carolina Panthers. …
Harbaugh said he expected the 21-day window for running back Gus Edwards’ return from injured reserve to open this week. Edwards sat out the last four games with an ankle injury.
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