Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about his thoughts and plans for the quarterback position this preseason, and it was a rather disappointing night for starter Easton Stick.
Stick completed 5/13 for 31 yards with one interception. He had the worst passer rating of the night at 14.6. Aside from some late deep throws by Luiz Perez towards the end of the game, it was a disappointing night for the offense overall.
First, Harbaugh was asked if he was happy with the backup quarterbacks given Justin Herbert’s current injury:
“I don’t think we can get that comfortable,” Harbaugh said. “We just have to get on with it. We have to get better. I think there’s a lot to gain there. But yeah, comfortable is not the word I would use. I don’t think anyone on offense would be comfortable with that. But I mean, when you bring it up, that’s 11 guys. It’s the unit. Back to work.”
Daniel Popper of The Athletic later asked if Harbaugh would consider looking outside the building for more competition in the quarterback room. The Chargers’ HC responded quite frankly with “anything possible.” The team signed Luiz Perez last week. He made his first preseason appearance late in the fourth quarter with some spectacular completions.
On the topic of the starter in Week 2 of the preseason, Harbaugh refused to commit to Easton Stick or any of the quarterbacks in the room:
“That’s still being determined. But I would say we’ll look at it and evaluate all the positions this week. Why wouldn’t we? I mean, I’m not going to name a backup quarterback for week two now. I’ll let that be decided at practice this week. OK, right?”
When asked to elaborate further on Stick, Harbaugh stuck to his answer:
“I said I won’t mention the name. I won’t mention the name of the starting quarterback for week two. I’ll let practice decide that.”
There’s no getting around the fact that the quarterback team lost tonight as a whole. The Chargers’ confidence that they have a viable Herbert replacement must have been shaken after a rather lackluster offensive performance.
Stick likely could have secured the backup quarterback job with a solid, game-manager-like performance against Seattle. But the Chargers’ 2019 draft pick may be under more scrutiny than he has in a long time because of his performance. While he’s far from losing the QB2 job, tonight definitely opened up the possibility of LA considering other options.
