3 Chargers who are playing for their 2024 jobs in Week 18

Easton Stick is playing for his Chargers job

The one silver lining of Justin Herbert going down is that it happened after the season was already out of reach for the Chargers. This allowed the team to comfortably hand the car keys over to Easton Stick and not rush Herbert back into action.

This was a big opportunity for Stick, who got virtually no playing time in his first four years with the Chargers. Over the final four-plus games of the season, Stick was essentially putting together an audition tape to be a backup quarterback in this league.

No team is going to task Stick with being a starting quarterback but if he played well in the final four weeks then the Chargers would likely feel comfortable bringing him back. Even if the Chargers went in another direction, four strong games can go a long way and would have landed Stick somewhere else in the league.

The results through three and a half games have been hit-or-miss. There have been some truly awful moments, whether it be turnovers by Stick or outright bad throws, but there have been good moments as well. With backup receivers and offensive linemen in front of him, Stick's effort has at least been commendable.

The jury is still out on Stick and the deciding factor very well could be Week 18. If he goes out and looks like Matt Flynn then he will earn himself another contract. But if it is more of the same, or gets worse, then he might be a practice squad quarterback at best next season.