With cap space aplenty, why are the Chargers hoarding resources instead of arming Justin Herbert for a championship run?
I will start this opinion piece by saying that it's possible I am losing my mind in the dead period of the NFL offseason.
It was not seeing yet another national NFL writer jumping on an idea I had a month ago that set me off (this time it was CBS Sports' Garrett Podell saying that the Los Angeles Chargers, more than any other team, need to work a trade for Dallas Cowboys WR George Pickens), but it was the resignation that the team probably won't spend the money or the assets needed to pull the deal off from SI's Chris Roling.
I understand that Justin Herbert is one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league, but we're staring down the barrel of a season that will be of huge importance in determining how the future of the team looks around Herbert and the front office is doing.....nothing?
Not nothing literally, but the Chargers are seemingly still without a top-flight starter at either of the guard spots (with most people assuming that former Dolphins backup OG Cole Strange will fill one of those spots) and the closest thing they have to a #1 WR is being desperately shopped on the trade market. And don't even get me started on the Chargers letting Odafe Oweh walk into free agency without being tagged.
That's 3-4 spots on the roster that the team still has to fill and their plan appears to try and fill all of them via the NFL Draft.
This is still a good team, I'm not arguing against that. I also haven't seen a single rumor from Herbert's camp that he's unhappy. But this is a team that needs to perform better and go further in the playoffs than they have. It's also a team with the third most cap space in the entire NFL that avoided making any big signings in free agency and doesn't seem eager to bring back a big-money contract in a trade.
If the Chargers once again fall victim to the injury bug, whether it be to the offensive line or crucial areas on defense (What exactly is the plan if Khalil Mack gets injured?), the fanbase will be completely justified in asking why the team didn't try harder to add talent and depth to this roster when they have the means to do so.
It is really perplexing as to why the Chargers seem unwilling to spend more than bottom-feeding teams (like the Titans and Cardinals) heading into this season. I would've assumed that they would've pushed in a lot more chips, even if it was just on one-year contracts, to make sure there were no questions left to ask about whether or not Justin Herbert has enough around him to potentially win a Super Bowl.
Maybe they think they have more time. It would be impossible for the team to facilitate a trade of Herbert before the 2028 season (when it would save them about $50M in cap space to move him). That's also when he turns 30 years old and, I believe, the last year before he can opt into free agency.
The clock is ticking on whether Herbert can turn the tide of the franchise and go down as one of the greatest legends in Chargers history. I'm just not sure the Chargers front office is paying attention.