Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Patriots, Vikings reached out to Chargers regarding QB Justin Herbert

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 4/25/24

The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings entered the 2024 NFL Draft as two of the teams with the biggest need for a quarterback. They both tried to address that need before the draft even began by reaching out to the Los Angeles Chargers to check on the availability of quarterback Justin Herbert.

That report comes via ESPN's Adam Schefter, who also adds that the Chargers quickly said no to both advances.

Not only because they love Herbert, but because the dead salary-cap hit for the Chargers would have been more than $60 million to trade Herbert.

In recent weeks, both the Patriots and Vikings reached out to the Chargers to see if they had any interest in trading QB Justin Herbert, per league sources. The answer was, very quickly, “a flat no.”

Not only do the Chargers love Herbert, but they also would have had to take on… pic.twitter.com/4ZqBFOfQzd
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2024

While the idea of the Chargers trading Herbert seems a little outrageous to even consider given how good he is and how high his ceiling is, you can kind of understand why they took the chance. Not only have the Chargers not won anything with Herbert, but they also have a new front office and coaching staff with Jim Harbaugh now running the show.

Maybe they felt that the Chargers would be willing to deal Herbert for a boat load of draft picks and open the door for Harbaugh to take his college quarterback J.J. McCarthy? That certainly could have been the thought process with the Patriots, who owned the No. 3 overall pick, as well as the Vikings, who own the Nos. 11 and 23 overall picks.

The Patriots ended up staying with the No. 3 overall pick and selected North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

The Chargers obviously kept Herbert, and then helped him get some pass protection by taking Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt with the No. 5 overall pick.

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