The Chargers’ 0-6 start has naturally stirred up trade speculation, but the clearest message from a Los Angeles Times analysis is simple: Justin Herbert is not going anywhere. In a league where even elite quarterbacks can become the subject of wild deadline talk, this is the rare case where the answer looks decisive rather than debatable.
That matters because the Chargers are at the kind of crossroads that can distort everything around a franchise quarterback. Their season has begun with six straight losses, the NFL trade deadline is a week from Tuesday, and the outside noise has already started. But the report frames Herbert as the centerpiece of the franchise, not a player the team would seriously consider moving.
Joe Banner's verdict is blunt
Joe Banner did not leave much room for interpretation when asked about the possibility of a Herbert trade.
“If you said, ‘Do I think there’s a possibility of trading that quarterback?’ I would say zero,” Banner said. “I literally would say zero, not even like small.”
He added: “I can’t even imagine [trading Herbert] is a thought in his head.”
That is about as strong a rejection as you will hear in modern NFL analysis. Herbert is not being discussed as a player the Chargers should shop for value, even if a desperate bidder were to come with a major offer.
Why the Chargers would hold firm
Banner’s view is that Jim Harbaugh is more likely to see a team that can still be repaired than one that needs a full reset. In his words, Harbaugh is probably not far from building a “massively better team” and would rather use money or draft picks to strengthen the roster around Herbert.
That is the key point in this debate. The Chargers’ problems are being viewed as structural, not as a reason to move the one player most capable of carrying the franchise forward. Herbert is the player you build around, not the player you trade away when the season goes wrong.
Banner even suggested that possibility remains true if another team offered “three first-round picks.” The implication is clear: even an enormous haul would not make a Herbert deal realistic.
The deadline speculation has limits
The timing of the chatter makes sense. The Chargers are 0-6, the trade deadline is approaching, and bad starts often invite extreme ideas. But this is not a situation where the logic points toward a franchise quarterback moving on.
The report’s conclusion is that Herbert remains central to the Chargers’ future and that the organization is more likely to focus on improving the roster around him than entertaining a trade. For all the noise around a winless start, the verdict is that Justin Herbert will stay where he is.
In a season already shaped by surprise and pressure, that may be the clearest answer the Chargers can offer right now.
