Easton

Stick

Hurt will be playing for the first time since the end of November after being placed on injured reserve with his hip injury He isn’t likely to be a major fantasy contributor, but with Will Dissly (shoulder) inactive, it could open up some snaps/targets. The remaining inactives for the Chargers are CB Cam Hart S Elijah Molden LB Shaquille Quarterman OL Brenden Jaimes OL Jordan McFadden and QB Easton Stick (emergency QB)

Schefter noted that the team hasn’t made a final decision on his status yet and that won’t happen until pre-game warmups. Herbert suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Chargers Week 2 win over the Panthers. He logged a limited practice on Thursday but was listed as a DNP for the other two sessions of the week. Herbert has a chance to play but remains a true game-time call. Fantasy managers need to have a backup plan in place and it shouldn’t be another LA quarterback. Per Schefter, “The team has contingencies that involve both Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke.”

Herbert told reporters he suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Chargers’ Week 2 win over the Panthers. Few players play through that injury without missing any time, so it looks like Herbert is going to be a true game-time call for Week 3. Per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, Herbert did not practice on Friday before being listed as questionable. He was a limited participant in Thursday’s session. Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t say who will draw the start if Herbert can’t play. The Chargers have Taylor Heinicke and Easton Stick on the active roster. Either way, LA projects to lead the league in rush attempts versus a Steelers team that wants to play the same game.

Drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Stick had one career pass attempt heading into 2023. Justin Herbert went down for the season late in the year and Stick stepped in for the first four starts in the league. He went winless in those games but put up a respectable 1,129 yards, three scores, and one interception. Stick will return to LA for QB2 duties in 2024, his age-29 season.

Stick, a prodigious rusher in college and a good athlete, finally used his mobility in the season’s final game. He picked up a few chunk gains in the first half before dropping back to pass in most of the second half. Stick, 28, got four starts this season after Justin Herbert went down with a season-ending finger injury. He struggled mightily through most of those games, throwing three touchdowns and one interception. Stick will be a free agent this offseason.

Stick led just three field goal drives on a night the Chargers were without Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Joshua Palmer. The loss drops the Chargers to 5-11 as they limp towards the end of the 2023 regular season, after which they will start their search for a new head coach after former head coach Brandon Staley was fired half way through his third season with the team. Stick has one more start on tap which will come at home against the Chiefs in Week 18.

Stick came out of the gates hot, with receivers running wide open on the first two drives, helping him to complete 10-of-14 passes for 101 yards in the first half while adding a rushing touchdown. He had a lot of time to throw in the pocket, was able to step up into his throws, and showed enough arm strength to squeeze into some tight windows. When the Bills did get pressure in Stick’s face, he seemed to shy away from the contact, taking sacks or making poor throws. However, Stick looked much better in his second start and was particularly dangerous on the ground, breaking off a 21-yard run on an RPO where he ran over safety Taylor Rapp. He’s clearly not Justin Herbert, but he proved tonight that he can certainly be good enough to keep Chargers receivers’ fantasy viable for the final week of the fantasy football playoffs.

Grier was drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers in 2019 and started two games that season, completing 28-of-52 passes for 228 yards with four interceptions and no touchdowns. He has not played another regular season NFL snap since. The Patriots signed Grier off the Bengals’ practice squad in September, but he did not appear in a game and was released Grier in late November. While he was expected to explore his options, he wound up returning to the Patriots before now being signed away by the Chargers, who are clearly looking for other options after watching Easton Stick under center against the Raiders last week. It’s unclear if Grier will be given a chance to get up to speed in time to compete for the starting job before Saturday’s game against the Bills, but it’s apparent that Chargers’ interim GM JoJo Wooden is not satisfied with Stick as their best option while Justin Herbert is out.

It yet another new franchise low, the Chargers allowed the most points in team history against a squad that had just gotten shutout 96 hours prior. In the same (home) stadium, no less. Adjusting to life without Justin Herbert, the Bolts looked like they would rather be anywhere but the football field, committing five turnovers, two of which were housed for Raiders touchdowns. Stick himself was not awful — he did take three sacks in addition to his three giveaways — but all of his production came after the Chargers entered halftime leading 42-0. Despite interim Raiders coach Antonio Pierce imploring his team to do otherwise, there was certainly an element of the Silver and Black taking their foot off the gas. The only positive was Stick involving wideouts Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston, two players he is going to desperately need for the stretch run. With coach Brandon Staley likely to be fired on Friday, Stick will have eight days to get ready with an interim leader for Week 16 vs. the Bills.

And with that, the disastrous Brandon Staley era in LA is likely over. Easton Stick will play out the stretch for the Chargers with Herbert landing on injured reserve. Against the Broncos last week, Stick completed 13 of 24 attempts for 179 scoreless yards. Stick might be able to keep Keenan Allen afloat for fantasy purposes with enough target volume. Herbert, meanwhile, ends a frustrating season in which he threw 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, with only one passing score in his final three games. The LA offense collapsed early in the season with the loss of downfield threat Mike Williams, leading to another season of check downs for the big-armed Herbert. It’s still hard to say whether the lack of downfield passing success is a product of the Chargers offense or a trait of Herbert’s. Maybe we’ll figure that out in 2024 under a new regime.