Roster move No. 1: Re-sign quarterback Philip Rivers
While it may not go well with everyone reading, it is still the right move. From both a football standpoint and even at the very least a respect standpoint.
Rivers has given his absolute everything as the quarterback of the Chargers. He has been nothing short of Hall of Fame-caliber and has tried to will this team to a championship (at the very least competitive football) on many occasions. While he may not have accomplished it, there is no arguing the talent he possesses and the simple fact that the blame cannot solely be placed on him.
Re-signing Rivers and drafting his replacement are not mutually exclusive events. It would be by no means a poor decision to sit a rookie quarterback under Philip for even one year, just to have him learn how to do things right.
There isn’t a quarterback out there who I’d take as a mentor above Rivers. Along with his mentorship, Rivers can very likely have a bounce-back season once some other things are figured out.
Luckily, the Chargers already went ahead and decided to continue with Shane Steichen as the offensive coordinator. Next, they can go ahead and build up the offensive line, trying to help Rivers build up some faith and have some more comfort making his reads (hopefully relieving some of the phantom pressure we have all surely seen). Finally, finding another outside threat to at least give Keenan Allen and Mike Williams a bit of a break wouldn’t hurt anyone.
While it may have been a very poor year, people cannot put this season on Rivers like it is certain he is done for. There were plenty of players who underperformed on the team this season, and with the number of injuries (especially to an already below-average offensive line), along with the offensive coordinator change midway through the season, it shouldn’t come as a very big surprise that Rivers struggled.
He deserves one last chance to lead this team to victory, and he should be given the pieces to give it his best attempt to do so. On nothing more than a two-year contract, we should all welcome Rivers back with open arms in the 2020 season.