Chargers trade for quarterback who should win backup job behind Justin Herbert

The Los Angeles Chargers have been busy with a bit of a quarterback carousel. Last week, they cut ties with Max Duggan. This week, they moved on from recently signed Luis Perez, leaving just two quarterbacks on the roster.

Easton Stick was the projected backup for Justin Herbert. Now, he has some veteran competition. Los Angeles just traded for another QB.

Chargers trade for backup QB Taylor Heinicke

Heinicke immediately provides some notable upside as the option behind Herbert. He is more proven than Stick, and Stick's preseason did not give fans a sense of confidence in the case that Herbert gets injured during the regular season.

For LA, it only costed them a conditional 6th-round pick in 2025 for Heinicke.

Now, they've got another option who fits their system as a mobile threat and NFL-level arm. Herbert is expected to be ready for Week 1 after suffering a foot injury earlier this month.

The Chargers are being careful with him and preparing for anything with this latest move, though. It's a good call from Jim Harbaugh and co. for Los Angeles.

Related: Chargers finally give Justin Herbert the weapon he needs in way-too-early 2025 mock draft