Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh made it clear what he thinks about the rest of the Chargers quarterback staff during his media appearance on Thursday. First, Harbaugh was asked about his plan for the quarterbacks on Saturday against Seattle:
“Easton starts the game. Somewhere around a quarter and a half,” Harbaugh said. “20 to 30 plays, that’s my impression. Max will come in, then we can get Casey and Luis in too. That was their best practice today.”
LA now has four possible options to rotate in their preseason play. Stick seems essentially locked in as QB2 regardless of what happens in the preseason. The reps in training camp were essentially done that way.
Things will be interesting in the three-way battle between Max Duggan, Casey Bauman and Luiz Perez. And Harbaugh let the Chargers’ other reserve players know exactly what the signing of Perez means for them:
“I mean, you know how I feel about competitors, right? Competition is the best thing there is. Competitors are welcome. I thought Easton (Stick) didn’t really have any competition at his position, not enough competition. And the only way to make someone better is to bring in competition. Message to Max (Duggan) and Casey (Bauman): We have to step up. And we liked the training that Luis had and what he’s accomplished in his career and his history.”
“We really wanted to put him (Perez) in the race for Easton.”
The Chargers’ offense reportedly struggled to find consistent success in training camp following Herbert’s injury. While it’s not exactly surprising that the offense hasn’t performed well without their star quarterback, Duggan and Bauman don’t even seem to have the competitive backups Harbaugh was looking for.
Duggan’s struggles in training camp are not surprising. He had a hard time fitting in during the last preseason and training camp, lacking situational awareness and processing. Bauman was consistently fourth behind Herbert, Stick and Duggan throughout training camp. There weren’t many highlight moments for either of them.
Perez led the UFL in touchdowns and yards last season with the Arlington Renegades. He is now the oldest member of the Chargers’ quarterback staff as he turns 30 later this month. On Tuesday, OC Greg Roman said he received many outside recommendations to take a look at Perez over the summer.
Harbaugh said he would essentially go through the replacements after Stick’s “quarter and a half,” with Duggan playing first, then Bauman and then Perez. How their snap counts fluctuate from week to week in training camp and the preseason could determine the direction the Chargers move for their final roster.
Stick, Duggan, Bauman and Perez will get a chance to show what they can do on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. PT against Seattle.
