Photo by John Torcasio
The Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots both picked new quarterbacks early in the NFL Draft. They thought about getting Justin Herbert from the Los Angeles Chargers, but that didn’t happen.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter says the Chargers said “no thanks” to trading Herbert.
When teams asked about Herbert at the NFL Combine, the Chargers’ GM Joe Horitz was quick to dismiss the idea. He didn’t spill the beans on who asked, though. “Justin who? No. No, at the combine I had some people ask me would we consider it, and they were quickly shot down. No, that is never an option,” he stated firmly.
The Chargers really like Herbert. Plus, trading him would’ve been super expensive. If they had traded him, they would’ve had to pay $63.5 million this season because of his big contract.
No surprise here. Teams do their homework, and the Vikings and Patriots were just checking. They knew it was a long shot.
Herbert’s too good and too costly to let go. The Chargers have issues, but quarterback isn’t one. They know Herbert can handle the pressure and make big plays.
Herbert’s had his ups and downs, but that’s not all on him. Last season, he did great even though the team had problems, like not-so-great coaching.
At 26, Herbert’s got a bright future. The Chargers are lucky to have him. They just need to get him some good wide receivers now.
Imagine Herbert playing for the Vikings with their offense. That would’ve been scary good. But it didn’t happen, and it was never really going to.
Now that the Chargers are focusing on building around Herbert, we can forget those rumors.
