3 Austin Ekeler landing spots if Chargers trade the star running back

In what could end up being yet another stunning trade in the 2023 NFL offseason, Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler has apparently asked (and received permission) to seek a new home for 2023 and beyond.

Apparently, the Chargers don’t want to pay one of their best players after some incredible seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Austin Ekeler hits the NFL trade block: Where is he going?

So where do the Chargers go from here? The better question — where does Austin Ekeler go from here? There’s no certainty that the Chargers would trade him, of course. It’s going to require some other NFL team not only being willing to meet Ekeler’s contract demands, but also give the Chargers fair value in a trade. What’s the value going to be on a guy who has racked up 38 total touchdowns and over 3,100 total yards over the last two seasons?

Let’s try to predict his top three landing spots in a potential trade.

1. Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have a bunch of cap space and a bunch of draft picks. Why not go after Austin Ekeler? Especially when you just lost David Montgomery — your top back — to a division rival in Detroit, it could make some sense to bring a player like Ekeler in.

Not to mention, Ekeler could really help push forward Justin Fields’ development. he’s the type of back that can create offense for you, specifically in the passing game. He has caught 177 passes over the last two seasons. Just imagine that kind of outlet for Justin Fields to have as he continues his development.

Obviously, I’m not suggesting the Bears give up that 9th overall pick for Ekeler, but after adding DJ Moore in the deal to move down off the no. 1 overall pick, perhaps Ekeler could be the next piece of the puzzle.

2. Los Angeles Rams

More than anything else, this just seems like something the Los Angeles Rams would do, right? The Rams are obviously making some massive changes already in the 2023 offseason, trading away Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins for just a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. Rumors of Sean McVay, Aaron Donald, and Matthew Stafford retiring have seemingly persisted.

Allen Robinson could be on the trade block…

But we know that the Rams are always good for a couple of shocking moves in the offseason, right? It would be surprising to see this team truly just let big pieces out the door and not try to replace them somehow.

The Rams do have 11 picks in this year’s draft and although I’m sure they’re going to focus on supplementing the roster by actually drafting guys, they might check in on the price of Ekeler and keep him in Los Angeles while changing his colors ever so slightly.

If you trust any coach out there to maximize Ekeler’s talent, it’s got to be Sean McVay, right?

Having Ekeler and Cooper Kupp in the same offense would drive opposing defenses absolutely nuts. Those are two guys who can take over games and when one is getting double covered, how can you leave the other one open?

This would be a matchup nightmare for defenses and the Rams would undoubtedly be able to welcome Ekeler in since the top of their running back depth chart is currently Cam Akers and Kyren Williams.

3. Denver Broncos

Okay, yes — we get it. In-division trades are extremely rare if not bordering on ridiculous to even suggest. Why would the Los Angeles Chargers send Austin Ekeler to the Denver Broncos and let him try to beat them twice a year?

I would have thought this idea was extremely ridiculous as well before the barrage of in-division trades we saw between teams like the Lions, Vikings, and Packers last offseason. It was odd, to say the least, but as Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah talked about at the Scouting Combine, you can have in-division trades that are beneficial for both teams, obviously.

Perhaps the Broncos and Chargers could find some common ground here.

First of all, Joe Lombardi is the Denver Broncos’ “offensive coordinator”, at least in title (Sean Payton is the true OC), and was also the offensive coordinator for the Chargers the last two years when Ekeler put up the crazy numbers we mentioned before. Second, Sean Payton has historically done a tremendous job of getting his backs involved in the passing game. You can look at guys like Alving Kamara and Darren Sproles as prime examples of that.

Further, the Broncos have an issue right now with the injury status of Javonte Williams. Is he going to be healthy this season? That’s what they’ve stated publicly, but Williams’ injury was pretty bad.

Given the fact that Ekeler also played his college ball in the state of Colorado (Western State), it wouldn’t be out of the question to see a “homecoming” of sorts here. Ekeler is the type of back that has really excelled under Sean Payton and the Broncos don’t currently have that.

Perhaps if they were willing to part with the correct NFL Draft capital, the Chargers would relent and let Ekeler go to a division rival.