If Herbert misses any amount of time in 2026, Dan Graziano at ESPN has proposed a wild contingency plan in his piece exploring the trade candidates for this upcoming season<\/a>\u2014 Mac Jones of the 49ers.<\/p>\n “In order for Jones to be moved, a contender would need a significant enough injury at the quarterback position to convince them to overpay the Niners to let him go. If something happened to, say, Justin Herbert with the Chargers or to Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, or if none of the Vikings’ options work out, those are all examples of places where Jones could conceivably step right in and help their Kyle Shanahan-inspired offenses.” Dan Graziano, ESPN<\/p>\n A Justin Herbert injury is a far-off reality, but the Chargers would likely need a contingency plan<\/p>\n To be clear, a major injury to Herbert is not an imminent reality. The only significant time he’s missed in his six-season career was in 2023, when he suffered a broken finger in Week 14. He played through multiple games last season with a broken hand.<\/p>\n But it’s not an impossibility.<\/p>\n With McDaniel in the fold, the stakes are too high for the Chargers to simply punt this season if Herbert goes down, and their schedule is too difficult for them to truly tread water if Lance is forced to start multiple games<\/a>. Los Angeles has publicly indicated their confidence in Lance, but he’s done very little on the field to justify it.<\/p>\n Granted, his 136-yard, one interception performance against the Denver Broncos in Week 18 is not necessarily indicative of what he might be capable of with an extended stretch of opportunities. He also has experience working under McDaniel in 2021 in San Francisco. The Chargers re-signed him on a one-year, $2.5 million deal for 2026.<\/p>\n Jones, however, would be a major upgrade if it comes down to it. Jones started eight games in Brock Purdy’s absence last season for the 49ers, posting 2,151 yards and 13 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He has extensive starting experience between the New England Patriots and San Francisco, and he likely has the poise and the arm talent to be viable for at least a few games in an emergency scenario.<\/p>\n That being said, the price would likely be far too high for Jones. San Francisco clearly prefers to keep him as their backup quarterback unless a team truly gets desperate, and the Chargers are not known to make moves in desperation. <\/p>\n While it’s a viable contingency plan in theory, it’s not one that would likely unfold in reality.<\/p>\n
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