Chargers say they wanted to make deadline deal, but didn’t need to do one
EL SEGUNDO — The NFL’s trade deadline came down to want 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 standing in the AFC West, according to Coach Jim Harbaugh. No, they didn’t necessarily need to add a player to their roster before Tuesday’s 1 p.m. PT deadline.
So, the Chargers didn’t make a move.
“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 feel great at every position group. Then it goes to want. Did we want somebody? Yeah. Did Joe want somebody? Then let Batman do his work.”
Harbaugh often refers to himself as Robin and to Hortiz as Batman.
“That’s the way we’re going about it,” Harbaugh said of the Chargers’ approach to the trade deadline, which featured a number of players moving around the league 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 moves weren’t 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 one touchdown against the Browns.
Plus, veteran DJ Chark appears set to make his Chargers debut Sunday against the Tennessee Titans after he was sidelined by injuries for the season’s first eight games. 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 slipped seamlessly into the starting lineup after injuries to veterans Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton. Still had his first career interception on Sunday and also deflected a pass into teammate Elijah Molden’s hands for another interception.
In the end, wide receiver Mike Williams was traded from the New York Jets to the Pittsburgh Steelers instead of returning to the Chargers, who jettisoned him during the offseason in a cost-cutting move. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore was dealt by the Saints to the Washington Commanders.
No doubt phone calls were made and fielded and due diligence was undertaken.
But no deals were struck.
“I think they have complete faith in us, trust in us that we’ve got 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 certainly feel like we’re moving in the right direction. I think it’s a good sign.”
EXTRA POINTS
The Chargers placed wide receiver Simi Fehoko (elbow) and linebacker Junior Colson (ankle) on injured reserve. They were hurt 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. …
In addition, 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 past four games because of an ankle injury.