While they’re not a marquee franchise, credit is where credit is due for the Los Angeles Chargers. In Justin Herbert, they knew they had a bright and special signal caller who was still just 25 years old. Giving him anything but a Brinks truck of cash, securing his long-term future in the process, would’ve been a grave mistake. It was a no-brainer. The best possible decision this franchise could’ve made in years.
So, that’s what the Chargers did.
On Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chargers rewarded Herbert’s talents with a five-year contract worth $262.5 million. At the time of this writing, it is unclear how much of Herbert’s contract is guaranteed, but this deal does put him in the $50 million per year club with Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, and Aaron Rodgers.
Wait, no. Actually, it technically makes Herbert the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback by average annual value (AAV). Oh. Hmm.
Now that is one lofty and worthy bet by L.A.
🚨 🚨 🚨
The #Chargers and star QB Justin Herbert have agreed to terms on a blockbuster 5-year extension worth $262.5M, per me and @MikeGarafolo, including monster guarantees to protect Herbert and lock him in for the future.
💰 💰 💰 pic.twitter.com/iMyKEkYLke— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 25, 2023
Three years into his NFL career, Herbert has no issue playing the quarterback position at a professional level. There is no developmental curve or “wait and see” approach for a man who may as well have a lightning bolt for an arm. He is a known commodity, a bona fide star with almost 100 touchdown passes dragged down by the unfortunate circumstances of a team incapable of elevating itself whenever he makes a rare mistake.
Therein lies the issue for the Chargers, which is both a blessing and disguise.
Herbert is already one of the sport’s top quarterbacks and doesn’t need much more seasoning. A deep playoff run later in his career should probably be viewed as an outright inevitability. As long as Herbert remains healthy, the Chargers have football’s important position locked down and never have to worry about it being a liability. The problem is the Chargers, otherwise. Which I recognize is a familiar refrain for this snake-bitten franchise but one they should really try to address.
Rather than completely unleash Herbert like the fire-breathing dragon he is, the Chargers have kept him chained up in a dark cave. It’s akin to the Targaryen family harboring their own weapons of mass destruction with wings and never letting them fly more than 30 yards from Dragonstone. Under Brandon Staley, the Chargers have willingly handcuffed one of football’s more exciting talents into a check-down machine while giving him few natural separators for receivers.
This manifested in Herbert averaging a paltry 6.8 yards per pass attempt in 2022, putting him in such company with known gunslingers like Aaron Rodgers (the awful 2022 version) and Daniel Jones (the somewhat OK but still not great 2022 version). And, per RBDSM.com, he was only the 14th most efficient quarterback on an EPA/CPOE (Expected Points Added/Completion Percentage Over Expected) basis. These overmatched fools have had Drogon in their grasp for three years, and they use him like Ord from Dragon Tales.
The hope, moving forward, is that new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore lets Herbert be Herbert. Moore is renowned for his work transforming Dak Prescott into one of the game’s more complete passers and has a baked-in downfield scheme that is much more befitting of Herbert’s exceptional abilities. Provided Moore gets the full reins to the Chargers’ offense, the days of Herbert mind-numbingly checking down on seemingly every second and short play are over.
By paying Justin Herbert a historic amount of money, the Chargers reinvigorated hopes for their franchise future. He will give them the requisite breathing room to fix the problems around him. It is no guarantee the Chargers will succeed in that endeavor — they are the Chargers, after all — but betting Herbert will keep them afloat in the meantime might be the most obvious decision in franchise history.
