On April 4, the Los Angeles Chargers signed former #3 overall selection, Trey Lance, to a $6.2 million deal. This led plenty of Chargers fans to wonder why they would spend so much money on a guy who has yet to prove that he is even a capable backup. So with that said, what are the reasons for this move?
Why Did The Chargers Sign Trey Lance For Six Million Dollars?
The first thing to mention about the Lance deal is that his contract is inflated with incentives that will likely not be hit unless absolute disaster strikes. His deal is more in the realm of 2 million dollars, which is much more in line with the Chargers’ financial trends.
That solves the money side of things, but what about the actual player and its correlation to this Chargers roster?
Obvious Upside From The Athletic Ability Of Trey Lance
The first thing you say when talking about Trey Lance is his immense athletic ability. It is the exact reason why he went #3 overall in 2021, and the exact reason why he keeps getting chances in the NFL.
Lance was always going to be a developmental prospect due to his immense inexperience playing football, only starting one season in college. The story has always been that if he can harness his tools, he can be a Josh Allen-level player. That never happened in his years with the 49ers and his season with the Cowboys, who spent a fourth-round pick to revitalize his career/development. Yet, the new Chargers backup quarterback is still only 24 and will be 25 when the season starts.
Now he finds himself with the Chargers, a team that has its starting quarterback and backup quarterback positions in place, but could still use a practice squad/preseason body. If Lance can couple his speed, power, and arm talent with other important NFL-caliber level traits, the Chargers might have something.
Practice Squad/Third-String Quarterback Who Can Emulate Mobile QBs For The Chargers Defense
The worst possible outcome for the Chargers is that Lance becomes your practice squad backup quarterback. He will serve as an emulator for the Chargers’ defense when they are playing against more mobile quarterbacks. In the AFC, this is a pretty good idea considering there are guys like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix, etc.
Furthermore, against scrambling quarterbacks, the Chargers struggled, giving up an average of 23.1 yards to quarterbacks on the ground. This does not include creation gained on passing plays made by the mobility of quarterbacks. This emulation Lance can give is valuable for any team looking to bolster their defensive experience against all skillsets, especially for a defense as young as the Chargers.
Buy Low Trade Candidate?
The final reason for the Chargers to sign Lance to the deal they did is for the possibility of a trade. As Chargers fans, we know how bad preseason play at the backup quarterback position has been the last few years under Easton Stick, Max Duggan, and even UFL Star, Luis Perez. These guys were unable to give bottom-of-the-roster playmakers the chance to prove themselves both in the off-season and in preseason.
You drop in a guy like Lance, and preseason receivers may have a chance to show off their talents, giving the Chargers the possibility of another Simi Fehoko-like story. Furthermore, and possibly more importantly, if Lance completely balls out in the preseason, the Chargers could pull off what they did last season, but just in the inverse.
The Chargers saw how terrible the backup quarterback situation was and traded for Taylor Heinicke to step in and be a valuable asset to this team. With Heinicke getting re-signed to be the backup, the Chargers can now take Lance with the hope that he plays well and trade him to a team that is in the same shoes that the Chargers were in the year before. A free draft pick should sound good to all Chargers fans.
Main Photo: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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