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August 23, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh instructs against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium.

Newest Blockbuster Chargers Trade Could Be Season-Changing

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Nate Gosney | Last updated Oct 7, 2025 9:42 PM ET

The Los Angeles Chargers and the Baltimore Ravens have been linked to possibly create trade offers between one another. This finally came true, in a much larger trade than what was expected. Odafe Oweh is now a Los Angeles Charger, while Alohi Gilman finds his way to Baltimore.

Newest Blockbuster Chargers Trade Could Be Season-Changing

Full Chargers Trade Details

Ravens receive: Safety Alohi Gilman and a 2026 fifth-round pick

Chargers receive: Edge Odafe Oweh and Rams 2027 7th-round pick

Why This Trade Happened?

The Baltimore Ravens side of the trade is considered to be a move to help shore up their injured, low ranking defense. Alohi Gilman was a long-time Chargers defender, where he worked up from being a sixth-round special teams contributor to a borderline Pro Bowler at Safety.

Gilman has made some incredibly clutch plays during his tenure with the Chargers, but has also made quite a few mistakes that have left a sour taste in some fans’ mouths. It was the correct time for the Chargers to trade Gilman. Especially considering the Chargers are coming off a two-game loss streak, both of which included explosive plays that had a large impact on the defensive performance.

Moving on to Odafe Oweh and his side of the trade, it seems that the Baltimore Ravens were ready to move on from their former first-round selection, as they were unhappy with his general performance considering his draft selection.

Oweh only had 11 sacks in his first three seasons in Baltimore, leading to fans calling for him to be replaced. 2024 yielded that much-needed breakout season, where he had 10 sacks and 55 pressures. For reference, Chargers standout EDGE rusher, Tuli Tuipolotu, had 43 pressures and nine sacks in 2024.

Now into 2025, Oweh has only yielded 12 pressures and zero sacks in five games. It seemed that a new home was imminent for the former first-round pick. Former Ravens Director of Player Personnel and now Chargers General Manager, Joe Hortiz, was happy to give Oweh that new opportunity.

Main Photo: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

How Will Odafe Oweh Change the Chargers Season?

Addition By Subtraction + Increased Time For Young Players

The first part of this trade is addition by subtraction. That being Alohi Gilman moving onto a new team. It is not that bashing Gilman is in the Chargers agenda, but his play dating back to even last season has been extremely up and down.

This season, Gilman has given up multiple coverage busts by being late to his assignment. He has also missed multiple tackles due to his over aggressive pursuits and wants to “set the tone”. A tone setter is needed for every defense, but whiffing a tackle does not really set the tone that is intended.

The Chargers knew that they had incredible depth behind Gilman, allowing for this trade to be a no-brainer. Elijah Molden is back from injury, and while he seems a tick slower than he was, he is still a good, starting-caliber player.

Beyond Molden, Tony Jefferson has been incredible in his minimal time on the field, earning more playing time than he has been given. Moreover, Kendall Williamson has been a core special teams player with experience playing defense in the NFL. Meanwhile, rookie sixth-round selection RJ Mickens is waiting for his turn to show what he has after a strong offseason.

Odafe Oweh’s Role In This Defense

More excitingly, the Chargers new addition, Odafe Oweh, will finally bring some sort of pass-rush juice outside of Tuli Tuipolotu. Khalil Mack went down early this season, and his absence has been felt mightily. Tuipolotu has played very well this season, but unfortunately, one good EDGE is not enough to keep the Chargers playing the type of defense they are known for.

Oweh possesses a pass-rush win rate of 16.4% this season, which has yielded him 12 pressures. Bad news, he has yet to finish a play and record a sack. Good news, Oweh’s pass rush grade of 72.3 ranks 25 out of 62 qualifying EDGE rushers [Minimum of 50% snaps played]. This shows that he is a much-needed upgrade over the Chargers other EDGE rushers, who rank 61 out of 62 (Bud Dupree) and 103rd out of 122 (Caleb Murphy).

New Chargers EDGE Odafe Oweh

Had a breakout season in 2024, recording 10 sacks, 23 quarterback hits and 55 pressures. Has a pass-rush win rate of 16.4% this season.

Huge upgrade for a defense that desperately needs to get to the quarterback more. pic.twitter.com/pBYTXIznk7

— Gavino Borquez (@GavinoBorquez) October 7, 2025

Note: Murphy has not played enough snaps to be counted in the 50% minimum. He is being ranked with a 20% snap count minimum.

Overall, the Chargers made a blockbuster trade that could completely change the complexity of their 2025 defense. Even with a depressing two-game loss streak, trading for a new shiny toy is enough to raise spirits for now.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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