‘Looks Amateur’ — Chargers Reporter Rips Team’s Stance on Not Trading Players, Sticking With Mike McDaniel Despite 0–8 Start

Colin Witte Tue, November 10, 2026 at 7:08 AM UTC

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‘Looks Amateur’ — Chargers Reporter Rips Team’s Stance on Not Trading Players, Sticking With Mike McDaniel Despite 0–8 Start

The Los Angeles Chargers finally scored an offensive touchdown on Sunday. By then, they were down 38–9 to Houston. Now they’re 0–8, Mike McDaniel is still calling plays, and the front office is turning away trade inquiries.

Chargers beat reporter Noah Furtado has a question for the people making those decisions. What message do they think standing pat sends?

Noah Furtado Calls Out the Chargers’ Trade Deadline Stance

Furtado took issue with the idea that trading a player or two would tell the locker room the season was over. In his view, the players have spent weeks living with the consequences of this start. They know where the team stands, and they’ll still have a game to prepare for whether general manager Joe Hortiz makes a deal or keeps the roster intact.

“Not doing business with other teams for their sake, because of the optics, looks amateur,”Furtado wrote for The Athletic.

He reported that Los Angeles hadn’t entertained offers for any player. With the deadline Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, he argued that the Chargers should at least start listening, especially with potential contract extensions to budget for.

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Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter reported that Los Angeles turned away inquiries about Herbert and wide receiver Ladd McConkey. They also reported that the Chargers had told teams they weren’t interested in moving 35-year-old pass rusher Khalil Mack, who’s playing on a one-year contract.

Mack has said he wants to stay, and Jim Harbaugh has said he wants him there. Furtado’s argument leaves room for the Chargers to keep a veteran they value. It also leaves room for Hortiz to ask what a contender would give up for a player on an expiring deal.

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Furtado added, “Chargers players have been saying for weeks now that they don’t have a choice but to stay together, show up to work the next week and keep at it. A trade or two that better positions the team for the future, especially with potential contract extensions to absorb, should not change things.”

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If there’s an offer that helps next year’s team, Furtado figures the guys playing out this year’s schedule can handle hearing about it. He wrote, “These are adults. This is the NFL. The Chargers have less than 48 hours to start taking calls.”

Justin Herbert Backs Mike McDaniel After the Houston Loss

Herbert defended McDaniel after the 44–22 loss, placing the responsibility on the offense to execute. Houston sacked him a career-high eight times, and Herbert said he could have gotten the ball out sooner or thrown it away on some of those plays.

Furtado talked about the Herbert-McDaniel pairing and wrote, “Herbert says he wants to see it through with McDaniel, and McDaniel says the same. OK then. Run it back next weekend in Baltimore. Just keep in mind, this is a locker room full of grown men who aren’t naive about the reality of this season. Almost none of them have experienced this type of failure before. But they get where they’re at.”

McDaniel moved from the sideline to the booth for the Houston game to get a better view of the field. Herbert said communication remained good. The offense still settled for three first-half field goals, including one after getting first-and-goal at Houston’s 9-yard line. Its 37-drive touchdown drought finally ended when Herbert found Quentin Johnston for 58 yards in the fourth quarter.

Through Week 9, the Chargers rank 32nd in thePFN Offense Impact Rankings with a grade of 61.2. They’ve averaged 15.1 points per game. That’s the offense Furtado had in mind when he questioned the club’s concern about appearances. Keeping McDaniel in charge through eight losses is a decision the players can see just as clearly as any trade.

Herbert and McDaniel get another shot Monday night in Baltimore. Hortiz’s deadline comes six days earlier. By the time the Chargers find out whether the offense can build on that late touchdown, their chance to turn a veteran into a draft pick will have passed.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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Source: “AOL Sports”