Chargers Pursued Trade for Shocking QB in Offseason

The Los Angeles Chargers had one of the more interesting QB rooms in the NFL this offseason as they had a bonafide starter in Justin Herbert. However, the backup QB situation was murky at best with Easton Stick and Max Duggan.

Stick or Duggan are quality backup NFL quarterbacks, so it would make sense for the Chargers to see what else was available. To everyone’s surprise, the Chargers were looking into current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields went on his teammate Cam Heyward’s podcast and said three other teams showed interest in him before the Chicago Bears traded him to the Steelers. And one of those teams was the Chargers.

“I’m not sure of all the teams, but there were a lot of teams that already had solidified quarterbacks and I didn’t want to do that. Chargers were one, Ravens were another,” he said (h/t Pro Football Talk). “Raiders, they talked a little bit. I don’t know too much. Who else was in there I don’t know, but a lot of teams had solidified quarterbacks who just got new contracts so I didn’t want to be there.”

Fields' reasoning on why he didn’t want to end up in Los Angeles or Baltimore makes sense as he wouldn’t start over Herbert or Jackson. However, the idea of Fields backing up Herbert would have been interesting, given the Chargers’ QB struggles in the preseason and Herbert dealing with an ankle injury.

The former Bears quarterback might’ve been a perfect fit in Jim Harbaugh’s offense as they’ve leaned a lot on the running game. However, Fields ended up in the best situation for him, while the Chargers will hope Herbert’s health can hold up for the rest of the season.

More Chargers news and analysis: