Will Justin Herbert be LA Chargers starter Week 1 after trade for Taylor Heinicke?
It’s a new era for the Los Angeles Chargers who have a new coach on the sidelines and new faces throughout their roster, including their newest QB Taylor Heinicke.
Taylor Heinickie is on the move once again. The seasoned back up quarterback has gone from team to team since coming into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and now he is headed out west to back up Justin Herbert.
Heinicke headed to LA
At the moment Herbert is still listed as the starter, although he is questionable for the Week 1 game against Las Vegas. The Los Angeles Chargers made a trade with the Atlanta Falcons to bring in Heinicke after the quarterbacks on the roster struggled in preseason. Easton Stick was supposed to be the QB2, but had a rough couple of tune up games over the last month going 25/55 for 303 yards, just one TD and three INTs.
The Falcons were a bit heavy at the quarterback position with newcomer Kirk Cousins and No. 8 overall pick Michael Penix in the QB room. Knowing Heinicke was a surplus on the roster, they sent him to LA for a 2025 conditional sixth-round draft pick.
Heinicke played in five games with the Atlanta Falcons last year, throwing for 890 yards, 5 TDs and 4 INTs while backing up Desmond Ridder. Ridder is currently a free agent after the Falcons let him go this offseason despite drafting him just two seasons ago.
Herbert followed by injury bug
The former Old Dominion quarterback had his best days in Washington where he spent three seasons. In 2021 he was named the Week 1 starter and played 16 of the 17 games throwing for 3,419 yards, 20 TDs and 15 INTs.
The Chargers wanted to make sure they had a reliable back up because their starter and face of the franchise, Justin Herbert, has been beaten up in the first few years in the league. He’s a tough guy, and has battled through those injuries playing in at least 15 games in three of his four years in the league.
Herbert missed the final four games of last season with a broken index finger on his throwing hand, and this year he comes into the season with a planter fascia injury that he has been battling during the preseason. It looks like he will be the starter in the Chargers Week 1 game against the Raiders, but that’s generally an injury that needs time and rest to heal. Los Angeles know there is a possibility of their starter having to miss games, so Heinickie will give them a little more insurance as the back up.