The Los Angeles Chargers aren't going to trade Justin Herbert, but similar things were said before other NFL trade deadline blockbusters over the last week or so. 

Sure, the Chargers are much more likely to trade Khalil Mack. No doubt the Chargers are getting calls from NFL teams around the league, even if those teams are leaving the phone calls more confused than anything else. 

From an outsider’s view, the Chargers are much more likely to blow up the entire program before trading away Herbert. That means head coach Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and even general manager Joe Hortiz, for starters. 

But…these things were said before a different mega-trade happened last week, too. 

Chargers’ Justin Herbert trade isn’t real…until it is

Teams like the Minnesota Vikings could use a big swing for a star quarterback right now. 

And teams like the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears have shown that, sometimes, all it takes is the right offer to actually be put on the table. 

That’s a point raised by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer this week, who fielded questions about a Herbert trade and pointed out that the Titans never actually moved star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons until another team actually made the right offer. 

“It can’t hurt to make that phone call if you’re the Vikings,” Breer said. “Do I think Joe Hortiz is going to say ‘no way, we can’t trade a franchise quarterback,’ yeah, I think he’s going to say no way.”

Point is, all of this is just smoke and talk until a team actually puts a major offer on the table. Teams aren’t likely doing that for Herbert, so it’s all moot. 

Breer added this: “I will just say this about Justin Herbert. I don’t think a lot of what’s happened this year is on him. I think if you go back to last year and you talk to people around the league, a lot of people felt he was playing at an MVP level in a near-impossible situation…it reminds me of the way people talked about Matthew Stafford in Detroit.”

Chargers fans are probably tired of hearing about the Herbert-Matthew Stafford comparison. But with how they keep blowing things up around him and failing to build back up properly around him again and again, it’s not an unfair one to make right now. 

As things stand, the Chargers remain focused on trying to make sure Herbert becomes and stays a top-10 player within their franchise, not somewhere else. 

But the reality hurts: The Chargers failed at roster building this offseason while bringing on Mike McDaniel. The combo has produced the worst play of Herbert’s career. They’re beelining toward another rebuild and blowing things up around Herbert again. 

Herbert’s no-trade clause in his contract notwithstanding, what really happens if a team like the Vikings slaps three or more first-round picks on the table, officially? Do the Chargers make like the Titans with Simmons and jump, or stand still some more?

That’s the problem for the Chargers: There’s no easy answer when it comes to trades, or even what to really do with Harbaugh and his entire staff. Staying the course is just as risky as blowing everything up again. 

Either way, Herbert’s name isn’t going to leave trade speculation discussions, even after the upcoming trade deadline, considering the Chargers’ season is already effectively over.