Pro Football Rumors
As things stand, Trey Lance is in position to spend another year as the Chargers’ backup quarterback. He could have competition in the form of DJ Uiagalelei this summer, however.
Justin Herbert spent considerable time during the spring working on adjustments to his footwork under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. That left plenty of reps for Los Angeles’ other two passers through OTAs and minicamp. ESPN’s Kris Rhim writes Uiagalelei impressed during his time on the field.
In the event that continues into training camp, Rhim adds Uiagalelei could make a push for the QB2 gig. The 2025 undrafted free agent joined Los Angeles last April. He was waived during roster cutdowns at the end of training camp but wound up being retained via the practice squad. Uiagalelei remained on the Chargers’ taxi squad through the campaign and signed a futures deal in January.
The Florida State product is attached to a cap charge of $885K. Moving on from Uiagalelei would not generate any dead money, but keeping him through the fall would cost less than retaining Lance. The latter is owed $2.5MM in 2026, with that figure matching his cap hit. Cutting Lance would result in just $500K in savings while incurring a dead money charge of $2MM.
Given the nature of quarterback deals, a modest dead cap hit would not deter teams from moving on from the more experienced passer in a case such as this. The Chargers in particular currently have over $40MM in cap space, so finances will likely not be a concern. The performances of Lance – who has totaled just 16 regular-season appearances since entering the league as a No. 3 pick in 2021 – will be worth watching closely through training camp and the preseason. Shortcomings during the summer could lead to Uiagalelei winning the role of Herbert’s understudy for 2026.
