Chargers’ Trey Lance finally enters the NFL trade deadline speculation mill

It truly only felt like a matter of time before Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance got his name thrown out in NFL trade deadline speculation, right?

Lance somehow became one of the hottest topics around during the NFL preseason while he seemed to revive his career a bit under Jim Harbaugh. He went on to secure the backup job behind Justin Herbert.

The Chargers really like the quarterback setup around Herbert right now and only have rookie DJ Uiagalelei on the practice squad as the emergency third.

But if a desperate team came calling with a nice offer at the NFL trade deadline…

Dolphins pivot off Tua Tagovailoa with Chargers’ Trey Lance?

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance — Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Lance isn’t going to a contender and giving them a shot. But his hot preseason might have teams with long-term needs thinking about him.

ESPN’s Ben Solak thinks that could be the Miami Dolphins before they end the Tua Tagovailoa era, even bringing up a past connection to tie it all together:

“The Dolphins are a struggling team that should trade players at the deadline. But perhaps taking a midseason moonshot on a young quarterback makes sense while the team prepares for its inevitable split with Tua Tagovailoa. Mike McDaniel was the 49ers' offensive coordinator when San Francisco drafted Lance in 2021.”

The Dolphins are obviously blowing things up, perhaps even before the end of the season, so this isn’t all that far out there.

For the Chargers, they’d have to consider even a late-round pick in the exchange, too. If Herbert goes down, they’re probably toast regardless. And with the way the front office has turned mid-or-late-round picks into the likes of Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart and Oronde Gadsden lately, how could they turn down another roll of the dice in exchange for a guy who should never see the field?

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