Could Bolts Replace Easton Stick With Elite Reserve QB?

Your Los Angeles Chargers will enter the 2024 season as one of the most anticipated teams in the league. 

They've had so much turnaround and for the better. The Bolts are set to make a mark in 2024. They already did so on the coaching side of things by adding one of the best coaches at the college and pro level, Jim Harbaugh. The anticipation is palpable, and Charger fans should be in for a treat. 

However, before we get closer to football, the front office needs to build the team. It won't be easy, as the Chargers are behind the eight ball on the money side of things, but that could quickly change in the coming weeks. 

Many new faces will be donning the powder blue, and this former Heisman trophy winner and number two pick could be on the horizon for the Bolts. According to CBS Sports football analyst Cody Benjamin, he sees the Chargers and free agent quarterback Marcus Mariota as a perfect fit. 

Easton Stick is headed for free agency after five years in town. New coach Jim Harbaugh might be enticed by a more experienced backup for Justin Herbert, and Marcus Mariota's dual-threat traits are at least mildly reminiscent of the kind of quarterbacks Harbaugh and coordinator Greg Roman have deployed at the NFL level.

^{—Cody Benjamin, via CBS Sports}

Although Just Herbert is undoubtedly the quarterback of the present and future— injuries could happen to anyone at any time. Last season alone, there were many injuries to the best quarterbacks in the league, and many teams struggled after their signal caller went down, the Chargers included. 

You never want your starting quarterback to get hurt, but it's safe to have a backup plan, in this case, a backup quarterback. 

Mariota spent the 2023 season with the Phildpehia Eagles, where he played in three games and completed 65.2% of his passes for 164 yards and one touchdown. He has completed 62.7% of his passes, 93 touchdowns, and 15820 yards in his career. 

He was a starter for the Tennessee Titans for the first five years of his career before being benched in 2019. Since then, Mariota has hooped around from Tennessee to the Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, and Eagles. 

We'll see if Mariota ends up calling Los Angeles home this offseason.