AFC West rival Raiders still have sneaky trade candidate for Chargers

Offensive line help for the Chargers could come from an unusual place.

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The Los Angeles Chargers are in dire need of offensive line help. Since before the season even began, the Chargers have dealt with injuries across the board at the position group.

The NFL trade deadline is on Tuesday and the Bolts are seen as buyers, specifically scouring the offensive line and running back market. They were able to retain two players from injury last week, that being stud tackle Joe Alt and Trey Pipkins III. Still, they'll need more help than that if the Chargers plan on making a deep playoff run.

In-division trades are rare in the NFL, but not impossible. The struggling Las Vegas Raiders sit at 2-5 heading into Week 9 and might sell at the trade deadline. They have one player that could be of interest to the Chargers, that being Jackson Powers-Johnson.

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Jackson Powers-Johnson trade to Chargers could be the answer to their problems

The Chargers could use a new guard, which is why Powers-Johnson shouldn't be ruled out as someone they could look into trading to. The former 2024 second-round pick made 15 starts as a rookie and six so far this year. The enticing part about Powers-Johnson is that he can play both guard and center.

According to SI's Albert Breer, "guard Jackson Powers-Johnson has drawn interest, too, and has had his fits and starts with the new staff, so there’s a possibility he’ll get moved." Trading a player halfway through their second season seems odd, but with Pete Carroll and his staff in command now, it could happen.

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The 22-year-old is set to make just under $2 million this year, then his cap hit jumps to $2.3 million and $2.7 million in 2026 and 2027 respectively. Long story short, this is a trade that would barely impact the Chargers' current and future cap space.

While they're a division rival, the Chargers should absolutely reach out to the Raiders to see if they'd be willing to part with their sophomore offensive lineman.

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