Why the LA Chargers should sign Joe Flacco this offseason

The LA Chargers have their franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert and the head coach that the team hopes will lead him to the Super Bowl, Brandon Staley. There is still a long way to go before the Chargers can legitimately even consider the Super Bowl, but they have the foundation.

It is crazy to think as well that without a freak injury to Tyrod Taylor in Week 2 we might not even be in this position. While Herbert would have likely succeeded at any point this year, there is no guarantee that he would have started or would have played enough to convince us that he is the real deal.

Taylor is now a free agent and I would be more surprised if he signed with the LA Chargers than if he left, especially when there are some potentially great fits out there for Tyrod (throw the Detroit Lions in there as well with Anthony Lynn being the offensive coordinator and Matthew Stafford wanting out).

That means that the Chargers will likely have to hit the market for a backup quarterback, as Easton Stick is not the most reliable option to be the QB2. He offers nothing to Herbert as a veteran backup and it would not be pretty if Stick was playing meaningful snaps.

There is one free agent quarterback that makes sense for the Bolts, as ironic as it sounds — that quarterback is Joe Flacco.

Why the LA Chargers should sign Joe Flacco

Yes, Joe Flacco has become a bit of a meme at this point and he is not a stellar quarterback. However, he is just fine as a backup quarterback and would offer Herbert that very beneficial veteran presence.

Flacco is not a similar quarterback to Hebert but he has a ton of playoff experience under his belt, even winning a Super Bowl in one of the greatest Super Bowl runs in modern NFL history. Herbert did not get that same experience from Taylor when he was the backup.

Flacco might not be very good anymore, but he is someone who could, at the very least, hold it together in the case of an emergency. He is a seasoned veteran and it would not be a complete disaster.

He was bad on the New York Jets, but it’s the Jets. Flacco was not that awful in the eight games he started for the Denver Broncos. Again: he is only hitting the field in case of an emergency, anyway.

Flacco also has a connection to the Chargers’ new head coach. Staley was the outside linebackers coach of the Denver Broncos in the one year that Flacco was with the team.

The LA Chargers are not going to get anything special in a backup free-agent quarterback and I would rather the team get a veteran like Flacco who could help Herbert’s progression over someone such as Geno Smith or A.J. McCarron.

Guys like Tyrod Taylor and Andy Dalton headline that backup quarterback bunch. The LA Chargers do not need to get in any sort of bidding war for a backup quarterback. Sign the guy that not many teams will want, who is also the only one with tangible (winning) Super Bowl experience.