Chargers Shut Down Quentin Johnston Trade Rumors

0:00It's April 20th. This is California News Today, AI-powered stories from your city. The 2026 NFL Draft is closing in fast, and the Los Angeles Chargers head into it with just five picks after trading away a bunch. Over the last two seasons, all the buzz lately has been about why receiver Quentin Johnston possibly getting dealt, but let's set the record straight. There's no real smoke. Here, just media chatter. That speculation kicked off right after the Super Bowl, when analysts started naming trade candidates from crowded rosters, folks like ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, through Johnston's name out there in early March, tying it to his rookie deal and the team's new offensive coordinator. But it was all guesswork. No solid reports of teams calling. Fans have been pushing to trade Johnston since his rocky rookie year full of drops, even though he's grinded hard in the off seasons and stepped up. His game each time. His contested catch rate jumped from the low 30s to 47.8% last season, and he still put

1:01up 755. Yards with eight touchdowns. Chargers GM, Joe Hortes, shut down the rumors hard at a presser last week, saying Johnston's not available. It makes zero sense to move him anyway. He's on year four of his rookie deal for just 4.5 million against the cap, way cheaper than guys. Mike Alec Pierce, who just signed for over 100 million, and Johnston matches him on deep balls while outperforming in catches and contested. Gramps. Keeping Johnston locks in a solid receiver room with Lad McConkey, Um and Grow, Trey Harris and others, so expect the charges to skip early Whiteouts in the draft, and plug other holes with their limited picks and cap space.