Chargers backup QB: How good is Chase Daniel?

As Justin Herbert faces the prospect of missed time, how good is Chargers backup quarterback Chase Daniel?

Late in Thursday’s night’s loss to to the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert took a heck of a hit and suffered a rib injury. He missed just one play though, not willing to leave the team’s comeback prospects in the hands of Chase Daniel.

Even with some extra time before the Chargers’ next game, Herbert could be facing a multi-game absence. That would line up Daniel to take over as the starter in the interim, barring a move to add someone.

Which begs the question…

How good is Chase Daniel?

The answer to that question is it’s hard to know. Now into his 14th NFL season after a good college career at Missouri but going undrafted in 2009 (the Chargers are his sixth team, having signed with them in 2021), Daniel has 261 career pass attempts with five starts and 71 total appearances. His perceived value, as a backup to Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, Alex Smith, Herbert, etc. over the years, is greater than anything he’s done on the field.

However, Chargers backup QB Chase Daniel is good at getting paid

For as much as it’s unclear how good a quarterback Daniel is, he is in an elite class at one thing based on his playing resume: getting paid.

Daniel signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Chargers this offseason, matching his deal with them in 2021. He made it one year into a three-year, $13 million deal he signed with the Lions in 2020, but he has gotten nice multi-year deals from the Chiefs, Eagles and Bears.

According to Spotrac, Daniel’s career earnings (through 2022) are $41,828,471. He seems to be preparing for a second career by recently taking a part-time analyst gig with NFL Network, but he certainly won’t need the money from that type of job whenever his playing career is done.

If Herbert is going to miss time, the Chargers will probably be somewhere in the market for a quarterback.