Chargers slammed for 'laughable' signing of former Cowboys QB in NFL free agency

The Los Angeles Chargers came out of nowhere on a Friday during a downswing ahead of the NFL draft to sign quarterback Trey Lance.

Surprise was the general reaction for a lot of reasons. One of those was the simple fact that Lance is a former No. 3 overall pick just settling for a backup role. Another was that the Chargers simply seemed done at the position after extending Taylor Heinicke's contract through the 2026 season this past March.

Another shocker on the Chargers signing Lance front, though? The details of the contract.

Reporting said the Chargers gave Lance a contract that could be worth up to $6.2 million, with that up to doing some really heavy lifting.

As a result, the Chargers have received some backlash. Jerry Trotta of The Landry Hat, for example, hit Los Angeles for a "laughable" move while paying so much for the former Cowboys backup after those same Cowboys pulled off a simple trade with the New England Patriots for Joe Milton:

“Milton, meanwhile, will cost the Cowboys just $960,000 next season. That will be followed by palatable cap hits of $1.075 million in 2026 and $1.19 million in 2027, respectively. In total, Milton will cost a total of $3.225 million over the next three seasons, per Over The Cap.”

Reactions were always going to be all over the place after the news of the Chargers signing Lance went live.

But truthfully, we’ll have to wait and see contract details before going overboard in either direction. An incentives-based contract for Lance isn’t all that unreasonable, especially if he only reaches that $6.2 million by starting a big chunk of games next year – which isn’t happening on a team with Justin Herbert as the starter.

Right now, the Chargers floated a big possible number to get more competition for Heinicke in the door. Knowing how these Chargers under Joe Hortiz do business, it hardly seems worth initial knee-jerk reactions on the negative side of the scale.

And if that $6.2 million happens? The Chargers entered free agency with roughly $90 million to use, anyway.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance — Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

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