After a disappointing start to the season, Los Angeles Chargers running back Gus Edwards suffered an ankle injury that will sideline him for at least the next four games. An undrafted free agent in 2018, the Rutgers product first made a name for himself with the Baltimore Ravens, recording at least 700 yards in each of his first three seasons in the league. While injuries limited him to just nine games over the next two seasons, he bounced back with an 810-yard, 13-touchdown season in 2023, earning him a two-year, $6.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Signed to star in a high-powered rushing attack, Gus Edwards couldn’t recapture his Ravens form even before the injury. The running back averaged just 3.0 yards per carry and, with him sidelined, the Chargers are down to the historically injury-riddled J.K. Dobbins and rookie Kimani Vidal. At 2-2 and with Justin Herbert now healthy, the Chargers are in the Wild Card fight and could trade for Panthers running back Miles Sanders as cost-effective running back depth.
Gus Edwards Injury Could Force A Miles Sanders Trade
The Los Angeles Chargers parted ways with wide receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen partly because they wanted to be a run-first team. While their inflated salaries certainly played a role in the decision, head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman both spoke at length about the power of the run game. Edwards and Dobbins both played under Roman in Baltimore, so it’s clear the offensive coordinator thought these two could lead a reliable rushing attack. However, with the Gus Edwards injury and J.K. Dobbins slowing down over the past two weeks, it might be time for the Chargers to re-evaluate their plans.
Miles Sanders is no superstar, but that could be a selling point for the Chargers. At 2-2, Los Angeles is already 2.5 games behind the 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs in the race for the division, so they won’t win the AFC West. Additionally, they lack the offensive firepower to be one of the NFL’s top contenders. This team can still make the playoffs even after the Gus Edwards injury, but they shouldn’t mortgage the future for this season. Sanders probably wouldn’t cost anything more than a pick swap, and the Panthers should be willing to take whatever they can get for his services.
It Takes Two to Tango
The Chargers could use a player like Miles Sanders, and the Panthers have no use for him. Signed to a sizable contract after a 1,200-yard season in 2022, Sanders was one of the league’s least efficient running backs during his first year in Carolina. The former second-round pick lost the starting job to Chuba Hubbard after just four games and has yet to earn a major role in the offense. With Hubbard playing well and second-round pick Jonathon Brooks set to make his NFL debut in the coming weeks, Carolina has no reason to want a big-money player as their third running back.
At 1-4, the Carolina Panthers are once again embracing a rebuild and could use as much draft capital as possible to turn this team into a winner. Andy Dalton made this organization competitive, but he’s not a long-term fix. Trading Miles Sanders won’t give Carolina the draft capital to land their future starter, but he could net a sixth- or seventh-round pick after the Gus Edwards injury. Perhaps the player selected becomes valuable cost-effective depth on a defense that lacks playmakers.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
