Seahawks-Chargers trade ideas could involve Saints, Bears

Mike Moraitis

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The Athletic's Seahawks, Chargers trade rumors could lead to deals with Saints, Bears image

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

TL;DR

  • * Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Chargers seek offensive line upgrades.
  • * Seahawks need a starting guard; Chargers need a starting right tackle.
  • * New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears may have available linemen.
  • * Trevor Penning, Cesar Ruiz, and Braxton Jones are potential trade targets.

If there's one thing the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Chargers have a need for, its offensive line help, which is arguably the toughest position group to acquire an upgrade for.

Both teams need more depth overall, but more specifically, the Seahawks need a new starting guard to replace Anthony Bradford and the Chargers could use a starting right tackle to provide an upgrade over Bobby Hart and Trey Pipkins.

According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, both teams are scouring the market for offensive line help, so it's clear that general managers John Schneider and Joe Hortiz are well aware of their significant needs.

"The Seahawks and Chargers are exploring potential offensive line additions," Russini reported on Saturday.

Two teams that should be square in the Chargers' and Seahawks' sights are the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears.

In New Orleans, the Saints may have two offensive linemen available in Trevor Penning, who is in the final year of his contract, and Cesar Ruiz, who could be available for the right price, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Both players have starting experience, which is obviously a plus, and Penning in particular has experience playing at both guard and tackle.

Neither one is guaranteed to make the kind of significant impact Seattle and Los Angeles need, but both teams could certainly do worse.

The Bears could make their former left tackle Braxton Jones available. He recently lost his starting job and that might make the former fifth-round pick expendable.

There are a few hurdles here, though, with the most obvious being that the Bears may want to hold on to him for depth. Jones is also on injured reserve, but he is expected back this season and can still be dealt while on the list.

Jones struggled over his four starts this season, but he played much better in 2024, which makes puts him on the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to linemen who might be on the trade block.

With the offensive line market very thin, the Saints and Bears could get better-than-expected offers for their offensive linemen, which may lead to them parting ways.

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Mike Moraitis

Mike Moraitis is a freelance writer who covers the NFL for the Sporting News. Over his nearly two decades covering sports, Mike has also worked for Bleacher Report, USA TODAY and FanSided. He hates writing in the third person.