EL SEGUNDO — Trey Lance’s response was short and to the point when Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh told him earlier this week he, not Justin Herbert, would start at quarterback in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos, only his sixth career start in four NFL seasons.
“Let’s go,” Harbaugh said Lance told him.
“I’m super excited,” Lance said when he spoke with reporters Wednesday. “Just thankful, very thankful that I’m going to get the opportunity to get on the field and start a game this year and go out and make the most of it. Get a win, obviously, is the goal, and to keep guys healthy. Yeah, I’m super excited.”
Harbaugh didn’t share Herbert’s exact words after telling him he wouldn’t be the starter, the backup or even suit up for the game after the Chargers’ coaching staff and the team’s medical personnel determined it would be best for him not to risk further damage to his fractured left, non-throwing hand.
The Chargers (11-5) want Herbert at his best for their upcoming AFC wild-card game.
“Few words,” Harbaugh said of his talk with Herbert, who last missed a start when he was sidelined four games by a finger injury near the end of the 2023 season. “Respected our decision. It’s not like it’s a week off. He was the last person to leave the building (Tuesday) night and one of the first in (Wednesday) morning.”
It’s not as if the Chargers’ game against the Broncos is meaningless. Far from it. A victory over the Broncos plus the right set of results around the AFC on Sunday could vault the Chargers from their current position of sixth in the playoff seedings to fifth. Or it could keep them at sixth. A loss would drop them into seventh.
A victory for Denver would clinch the top seed in the AFC.
Last season, with a playoff berth already clinched, the Chargers started Herbert for their regular-season finale, a 34-20 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders that moved them into the fifth-seeded position, a game in which Herbert threw for 346 yards and two touchdowns.
So why the change in philosophy?
“Every year is different and the circumstances are different,” Harbaugh said.
It’s also a meaningful game for Lance, a first-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers who has played only 15 games since he was selected third overall in the 2021 draft. He has played three games in relief of Herbert this season. His last start was the final game of the 2024 season while with the Dallas Cowboys.
Lance, 25, has taken 29 snaps this season, completing seven of 13 passes for 90 yards. He’s also scrambled eight times for 16 yards. He took first-team reps in practice after Herbert fractured his hand Nov. 30 against the Raiders and underwent surgery to stabilize it the following day.
Herbert then led the Chargers to a 22-19 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles one week after surgery to insert a plate and some screws into his hand.
“Going through everything in my first five years in the league, I just try to take it one day at a time, one hour at a time,” Lance said, referring to injuries that short-circuited his career while with the 49ers. “If I’m in a meeting, that’s where I’m at. If I’m at home, that’s where I’m at.”
EXTRA POINTS
Left tackle Jamaree Salyer (hamstring) won’t practice this week and probably won’t be sound enough to play Sunday, according to Harbaugh. “Possibly next (week),” Harbaugh said of the possibility that Salyer could be ready to play in the wild-card game to follow the regular-season finale. …
Wide receiver/return specialist Derius Davis (ankle), defensive backs Benjamin St-Juste (shoulder) and RJ Mickens (shoulder) and running back Kimani Vidal (neck) returned to the practice field after they were sidelined for the Chargers’ 20-16 loss this past Sunday to the Houston Texans. …
Wide receiver Keenan Allen (rest), center Bradley Bozeman (concussion), safety Derwin James Jr. (rest) and outside linebackers Khalil Mack (rest) and Tuli Tuipulotu (rest) didn’t practice. Harbaugh didn’t say who else in addition to Herbert might sit out to rest bumps and bruises against the Broncos.