The Los Angeles Chargers are rudderless. That's ... probably an understatement for the NFL's worst team.
We're already in mid-November, and the 0-8 Chargers are showing no signs of getting up off the mat. Whatever "culture" Jim Harbaugh and company still think they're building or cultivating, it's not evident or very visible when we watch the Chargers play. And for whatever reason, with the NFL trade deadline now behind us, the Chargers mostly stood pat. They made a single deal, trading one of their best young linebackers, Daiyan Henley, to the division rival Denver Broncos.
Otherwise, any Chargers veteran on an expiring contract who could've been useful to a contender while recouping draft capital in a trade will stay in Los Angeles for the rest
of the season. Given that the Chargers aren't going anywhere in 2026, it's pretty flabbergasting to consider.
One of those Chargers veterans is the legendary Khalil Mack. The 35-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year is a pending free agent this offseason. While he's certainly not the same game-wrecker he was when he was younger, Mack could've been a valuable rotational piece for a win-now team. Instead, the Chargers kept him because ... he can mentor their young guys?
Huh? Then why would they trade a young gun like Henley to a team they have to face twice a year?
This logic for keeping someone on an expiring deal like Mack, who has never won a Super Bowl, per Ian Rapoport, doesn't add up:
From The Insiders @nflnetwork: A look at a trade that didn’t happen but could’ve — Khalil Mack to the #Bears. pic.twitter.com/uppJQofSMY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 11, 2026
Of course, this all supposes that Mack even wanted to leave the Chargers in the first place. Perhaps he wanted to stay and be a mentor before a potential retirement from professional football. On some level, that's plausible. Nonetheless, it's hard to believe that one of the greatest defensive players of his generation and a bona fide future Hall of Famer didn't want at least one more chance to finally win a ring before he potentially hangs up his shoulder pads. He deserves that as much.
The Chargers did both themselves and a good soldier like Mack a disservice by not trading him away.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The Chargers' dubious reason for keeping Khalil Mack doesn't add up
