LA Chargers fans were hit with the worst news possible last week when it was announced Justin Herbert was diagnosed with a plantar fascia injury and would be held out of practice for at least two weeks. Thankfully, the team expects Herbert to be back for the start of the regular season.
The early timeline does not conflict with the 2024 season and would seem to indicate that Herbert and the Chargers can be all systems go for the season. However, plantar fascia injuries are tricky and can be quite painful. Even if Herbert is able to suit up, there is a chance he is playing through significant pain in his planting foot that would hinder his production.
Then there is also the chance of re-injury. Injury timelines don't always go as planned and the Chargers organization should know firsthand not to be careless with this specific injury. Legendary tight end Antonio Gates had the same issue in 2010, played on it, and eventually tore it during the season.
Thus, with the NFL season being very long, many Chargers fans pushed for the Chargers to sign some kind of quarterback who could play in case Herbert has to miss the early parts of the season. Easton Stick simply has not proven he can take that mantle, and if the Chargers want to stay afloat without Herbert, it would take someone else stepping in.
The Chargers did address the quarterback room on Tuesday in the aftermath of Herbert's injury but it was not in the way most fans wanted or expected. Los Angeles signed quarterback Luis Perez.
Signing Luis Perez is not the quarterback move Chargers fans wanted
Perez is a San Diego native, so he has that going for him, but he is not an exciting addition to the quarterback room. Perez played college ball at Southwestern and Texas A&M-Commerce, where he graduated in 2017.
Perez put up big numbers in college but he is most known for his play in the UFL. Perez has arguably been the best quarterback in the UFL the last two seasons, winning the UFL Championship in 2023 and leading just about every UFL passing statistic in 2024.
The best quarterback in the UFL still isn't quite an NFL quarterback and is Perez has to start for the Chargers at any point in time there will be less confidence in him than Ryan Tannehill, who is still on the market.
If anything, maybe this is a good sign for the Chargers and Herbert's timeline. If the Bolts were truly worried about this bleeding into the regular season then perhaps the team would have been more aggressive with a quarterback addition.
Instead, the team seemingly just added a camp body who can compete for depth behind Easton Stick and potentially lock up a QB3 spot on the depth chart. Who knows, if Perez is good enough he could beat Stick out for the backup quarterback role.
But at the end of the day, he certainly is not someone who should be spot-starting for the Chargers if they need it at any point.