The Los Angeles Chargers will work through the remainder of training camp as though it is business as usual. However, the story that will follow the team until the regular season starts is the injury that star quarterback Justin Herbert is dealing with.
He will miss the entire preseason and the hope is that he will be ready to take the field in Week 1. Jim Harbaugh does not seem like the kind of guy who wants to bank on a hope and he certainly didn't leave one of the best programs in college football to watch Easton Stick taking any more snaps than he needs to.
No disrespect to Stick, but there are better options out there for this team and the Chargers need to explore those.
Chargers need a better backup QB, at the very least
As pointed out by Adam Schefter of ESPN and then again here, this is a situation that the team could be dealing with all season. Even if Herbert is out there, the injury will have to be managed and constantly monitored.
This is not an ideal situation and not one that can just be skimmed over with a gradual return to action. That is why other options must be considered, and many of those have already been talked about, including the most obvious choice which would be current Cleveland Browns quarterback Tyler Huntley.
Stick is not a terrible option and he has been with the team for five seasons, but there are better choices out there. One of those is currently on the roster of the Atlanta Falcons.
Taylor Heinicke is the No. 3 option in Atlanta and after the team signed Kirk Cousins this offseason and then drafted Michael Penix Jr., that's as high as he's going to be. Unless the Falcons keep three quarterbacks, he will be dumped at the end of camp and become subject to waivers.
For the Chargers, Heinicke makes a lot of sense. He has a lot of NFL experience and is one of the top backup quarterbacks in the league. He's better than Stick in pretty much every phase of the game and could hold down the fort much better until Herbert was back to 100 percent.
The Chargers could likely get him for next to nothing. A sixth or seventh-round pick should suffice, and that would give the team a much better outlook ahead of the start of the regular season.
Heinicke should be obtainable and it's a phone call Joe Hortiz should go ahead and make.
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