Justin Herbert Extended, What Now?
NFL.com
Inglewood, California (PSF) - Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert signed a five year, $262.5 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Chargers on July 25, making him the new highest-paid quarterback in NFL history. That title has changed hands three separate times this offseason, starting early in the offseason with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’s extension, then to draft night where Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson signed an extension, and now to Herbert.
Herbert was the third quarterback taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, sixth overall by the Chargers after the Bengals selected Joe Burrow first overall and the Dolphins took Tua Tagovailoa one pick later. Herbert was highly touted coming out of Oregon, after leading that team to a Rose Bowl victory and a Pac-12 Championship win in his senior season.
This new contract for Herbert puts an expectation on the Chargers team (and especially on Herbert) that they need to find some post-season success, and quickly. A team does not invest that much money and cap space into a quarterback unless they think that quarterback can win them a Super Bowl, and while the team has done so much to help equip Herbert to rise to that task, they’ve still made it only to the Wild Card round and no further in the time Herbert has been there. Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley finds himself on the hot seat this season as well, and if fired, Herbert will be entering the third head coach of his career already. To put that into perspective, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady combined have had one more head coach in their careers (four: Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Bruce Arians, Todd Bowles) than Herbert will have had at that point (three: Anthony Lynn, Staley, and Staley’s successor).
The problem with the Chargers hasn’t been the personnel they put out onto the field, but their luck with injuries and lack of playcalling to match the team’s talents.
While there is still pressure on Herbert to succeed this season, he still finds himself in a better position than he was, as this season isn’t a “prove it” year for him anymore. Herbert told reporters on July 26 that he’s elated to not have to worry about this anymore, and rather “I just get to play football now and I think that's the best part about it is I get to play free.”
The Chargers face an uphill battle in their division this year, with the dominant reigning Super Bowl Champions looming in the Kansas City Chiefs, with a retooled and improved Denver Broncos and refocused Las Vegas Raiders team also waiting in the wings to prove as obstacles in this season. Even still, the Chargers find themselves in prime position to land a playoff spot and wade through the AFC.
