The Chargers‘ injuries have continued to mount with the news that Joe Alt will be out for the rest of the season. That means Los Angeles will be without each of its top tackles for the rest of 2025.
Tuesday’s trade deadline has now passed, but the Bolts did make a last-minute trade with the Saints. The front office was able to acquire offensive lineman Trevor Penning in the final seconds of the deadline.
Let’s examine a few reasons why he makes sense for L.A.
Positional flexibility
Penning was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft as an offensive tackle and made 23 combined starts between the left and right sides in his first three years. Ahead of 2025, he was moved over to left guard and has started six games there, so he has the flexibility to play on the inside or outside.
We’ll see what the Chargers plan to do with him, but after the Alt news on Monday, it’s fair to assume Penning will be used at tackle. Regardless, the Chargers need help all across the line, and Penning’s flexibility will allow the coaching staff to be able to move some pieces around if needed.
Experience
Simply put, the Chargers’ current options are not good enough and lack experience at the tackle position. Even if Penning hasn’t been anything special, he’s still an upgrade over what the Chargers had before the trade. The former 19th overall pick has started 29 games across his NFL career and logged 1,981 offensive snaps.
Low cost
Penning is in the last year of his rookie contract, which makes him a free agent after this season. That’s all the Chargers really need him for anyway, with the assumption that Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are both ready for Week 1 next season.
This is a temporary move, and one that had to be made if the Chargers still want to make a run at the playoffs. It didn’t cost much of anything to acquire him, either in the form of a 2027 sixth-rounder. Penning has the ideal size for an NFL lineman, and while he hasn’t been able to put it together yet, the Chargers could look at bringing him back this offseason if all goes well.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: 3 reasons why the Chargers traded for OL Trevor Penning
