Chargers blockbuster trade idea greatly improves tight end with $75 million superstar

The Los Angeles Chargers need more playmakers in the passing game, plain and simple. The team has a promising young star in Ladd McConkey, but there is nothing to write home about after him.

Los Angeles lost Joshua Palmer in free agency to the Buffalo Bills and has since brought back Mike Williams, who looked like a shell of himself last season. Quentin Johnston is still on the team, but he's not someone the Chargers can rely on for a big role.

In what is no doubt an out-of-the-box idea, Last Word on Sports' Anthony Palacios wants to see the Chargers trade for San Francisco 49ers tight end, George Kittle.

"Tyler Conklin is signing a one-year deal, so it seems like the Chargers are testing the waters of any pass-catcher for quarterback Justin Herbert," Palacios wrote. "Since the Los Angeles wide receiver room is still poor, they could make that up to stabilize the tight end unit. Will Dissly could probably get cut if he shows signs of inconsistency, and Kittle is easily the favorable replacement."

Palacios' proposal is birthed from an article by On SI's Grant Cohn, who suggests that the Niners could consider trading Kittle if the team doesn't want to give him an extension.

"If Kittle holds out, the 49ers could do what they usually do when star players want extensions, which is to let them hold out for the entire training camp and preseason and then give them everything they want right before the regular season begins," Cohn wrote. "Or, the 49ers could be proactive and trade Kittle. If they know he's not part of their long-term future, trade him now while his value as at its highest. They might be able to get a first-round pick for him."

It goes without saying that adding one of the best all-around tight ends in the NFL who is also an elite playmaker at the position would be a massive upgrade for Los Angeles' offense.

On the flip side, the team is already well-stocked at tight end with the likes of Conklin and Will Dissly, so making this kind of addition doesn't seem likely.

However, having a chance to acquire Kittle would be hard to pass up on considering Los Angeles' need for more weapons. It's not crazy to think the Chargers could pull off such a move and then turn around and trade Dissly. A duo of Kittle and Conklin would give the Chargers one of the best tight end pairings in the NFL.

When it comes to the contract extension Kittle is seeking, the Chargers are well-positioned to be able to afford that in the coming years, so that wouldn't be an issue.