The Los Angeles Chargers Week 1 preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks was not the best showing for the offense. In fairness to them, most of the starters were not playing – including Justin Herbert, who is currently dealing with plantar fasciitis. Thus, presumed QB2 Easton Stick was the “starter” for the night. But after that game, now the Chargers backup quarterback battle has become more open.
Chargers Backup Quarterback Battle Muddled After Week 1 Preseason Loss
Easton Stick Disappoints
Easton Stick played for the entire first half – and had quite a rough performance. It was a rough night for a lot of the offense, but Stick was not doing them any favors. The Chargers went three-and-out on five of their first six possessions – and the other one was a turnover. For his part, Stick went 5-for-13 with 31 yards and one interception. That interception came on a ball that was thrown high and caused tight end Hayden Hurst to take a hard hit before the ball got turned over – a bad throw on a number of levels.
This is a rather unexpected and alarming turn for Stick, who was serviceable last year after Herbert went down – aside from the Raiders debacle that got Brandon Staley fired, he kept the team in their games. He wasn’t going to carry the team to a win on his own power but he wasn’t going to give it away either. Now, after a performance like this in the preseason, it does not bode well for him. If he can’t do well against what was mostly backups as well on the Seahawks, that indicates he may not be the man for the QB2 job. Granted, if Herbert ever misses time, the Chargers are likely screwed anyway, but that doesn’t mean you just phone it in and have a scrub as his backup.
Max Duggan Stepping Forward?
Duggan came in at the start of the third quarter. He was drafted last year in the seventh round and ended up spending most of it on the practice squad until Herbert went down. He never played a snap, though – Stick played all of the games without Herbert.
Duggan went 4-for-7 with 41 yards, plus 15 rushing yards, and had a nice 29-yard completion to Simi Fehoko shown below. He was not in for that long, but he looked better than Stick in that short amount of time. By that point in the game, he would have been playing against third-stringers and practice squad candidates (much like himself!), but he still showed more promise than Stick did – even if that’s not saying a whole lot.
MAD MAX 🎯 @MaxDuggan_10
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🔗 https://t.co/OdwWP1lpPe pic.twitter.com/63q6hNO38X— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) August 11, 2024
Luis Perez, the Newcomer
Later in the second half, the Chargers put in newly signed Luis Perez, who has only been with the team for four days. To preface, Perez has been more known for his work in the various “spring leagues” – AAF, XFL, USFL, and the merged UFL. He had done fairly well there the last couple of years, and it garnered him his first NFL contract.
Perez did pretty well considering that he had only been with the team for four days. He went 5-for-12 with 61 yards. His completion percentage could have been better, but he also had probably the best throw of the night for the Chargers (to Jaylen Johnson, of all people). It does make one wonder what he would be capable of with more practice time with these guys.
hello luis perez
📺 | CBS LA + Estrella pic.twitter.com/omBXVVd5fr
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 11, 2024
The timing of his signing was also interesting, especially considering they already had four quarterbacks on the roster (undrafted free agent Casey Bauman did not play). It was almost as if the Chargers were already unsatisfied with at least one of the options they had at backup quarterback and wanted to throw another name into the mix. Whatever the case may be, it was well-timed, because now they have one or two options to consider besides Stick. If Stick doesn’t turn things around in the remaining two preseason games, he may find his QB2 job in jeopardy – or even his roster spot.
Main Photo: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports
