Total Pro Sports
The Los Angeles Chargers have named Trey Lance their starting quarterback.
Well, sort of.
On Tuesday, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh announced that Trey Lance will start Thursday’s Hall of Game against the Detroit Lions in Canton, Ohio, per Chargers reporter Omar Navarro.
Per Navarro, the plan is for Lance to play the entire first half and one drive in the third quarter before undrafted rookie DJ Uiagalelei takes over. The Bolts signed the latter after a frustrating final college season at Florida State.
#Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh says Trey Lance will get the start at QB in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game
Added if “all goes well” Lance will play the first half and a drive into the 3rd Q.
DJ Uiagalelei will take over from there and Taylor Heinicke will serve as emergency QB. pic.twitter.com/Oj6ovGkpDT
— Omar Navarro (@OmarNavarro____) July 29, 2025
So, starting quarterback Justin Herbert will be rested for the Chargers’ first preseason game. This is a common practice for NFL teams, with starters traditionally seeing very few snaps in the exhibition contests before the regular season.
The Chargers signed Trey Lance to a one-year contract worth a max value of $6.2 million in free agency. He spent the previous two seasons as a backup for the Dallas Cowboys, coming over via trade with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
San Francisco traded up via the Miami Dolphins and selected Lance third overall in 2021. After backing up Jimmy Garoppolo in his rookie year, Lance took over as the starting QB in 2022, before unfortunately suffering a serious ankle injury that abruptly ended his season.
The rise of 2022 Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, made Lance expendable. Thus, he was traded to Dallas and served as the No. 3 QB behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush. Four years after he was drafted, however, Lance still awaits his chance to become a starter.
Lance won’t replace Justin Herbert as the starting quarterback, but the preseason gives him the opportunity to show other teams what he can do. If Lance fares well in preseason, it could enhance his trade (or 2026 free agency) value.
He was the No. 3 pick in 2021 for a reason. The skill set is there. Now we wait and see if he can show it off in the Hall of Fame Game.
