The Los Angeles Chargers officially announced this week that they have moved on from Philip Rivers, leading many to believe they are going to make an all-out push to sign Tom Brady and/or draft a quarterback early in the first round. But if you believe Chargers general manager Tom Telesco, the team may not be feeling a huge sense of urgency at the QB position.
In an interview with the “Petros & Money Show” on AM 570 LA Sports Tuesday, Telesco praised Tyrod Taylor and Easton Stick and said the Chargers are comfortable moving forward with their “internal options.”
“We do like our internal options right now,” Telesco said. “Tyrod Taylor is a player that has won in this league and we think he has a style that fits what we can do. We have some high hopes for Easton Stick and Easton is still a young QB that has a little ways to go. We have a lot of confidence in Tyrod Taylor.”
Telesco also hinted that the Chargers are looking into the possibility of drafting a quarterback early.
“I like our internal options and we will also look at external options. If there’s only one way to win a Super Bowl everybody would do it,” he said. “Obviously having a young QB on a rookie contract will help you salary cap with other positions. On the flip side, it’s going to be a young QB and most likely an unproven QB.”
Taylor was a starter with the Buffalo Bills for three seasons, and he gave them steady play during that span. He then signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2018, suffered a concussion early in the season and never got his starting job back from Baker Mayfield. While there are worse options out there for a starting quarterback, the Chargers almost certainly want to aim higher.
Stick was a fifth-round pick last year out of North Dakota State, and it’s hard to envision him being ready to start in 2020.
There have been rumblings that the Chargers actually have a chance to sign Brady, but they have to be prepared for other possibilities. We would be surprised if entering the 2020 season with Taylor as the No. 1 QB on their depth chart is Option B behind signing Brady.
