Penning eager to help Chargers protect Herbert

Lineman arrives from New Orleans in trade to boost beleaguered offensive line unit.

- BY BENJAMIN ROYER

TREVOR PENNING joins the Chargers after four seasons with the Saints, who are off to a 1-8 start.

(RONALD MARTINEZ Getty Images)

Trevor Penning couldn't help but smile and chuckle after arriving in the brisk El Segundo weather from New Orleans early Wednesday morning.

It was less than 24 hours after he'd been told of a trade he hadn't been expecting, standing in front of his new end-of-the-hallway locker in the Chargers' clubhouse. A placard listing Penning's high school recruiting rating and the schools he attended had yet to be placed atop his stall next to long snapper Josh Harris.

“It’s pretty crazy — overnight,” said the fourth-year offensive lineman, a 2022 first-round draft pick of the Saints.

“You get five more wins on [the record]. ... I'm excited to be here.”

Penning, acquired by the Chargers (6-3) just before the NFL trade deadline Tuesday — New Orleans received a 2027 sixth-round draft pick in exchange for the 6-foot-7, 325-pound tackle — joins a team fighting with the Denver Broncos atop the AFC West.

When the Northern Iowa alum checked into the Saints' facility Monday, he was on a team with the worst record (1-8) in the NFC.

Now, Penning will try to bolster the Chargers' protection of quarterback Justin Herbert, who has been sacked 28 times — third most in the NFL. The Chargers were in desperate need of a lineman after losing offensive tackle Joe Alt to a season-ending ankle injury.