Should Ducks Great Justin Herbert Get the Start This Sunday?

Jordan Ingram Editorials

If you’re like me, the return of the NFL season this past week was a refreshing change from the doom and gloom of 2020. And if you bleed green and yellow, you probably wished former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert had taken a few snaps for the Los Angeles Chargers against Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ducks fans, you weren’t alone. As reported by NBC Sports, NFL fans took to Twitter to express their desire to see the Sheldon High School graduate and Rose Bowl champ take the reins from veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who struggled throughout the game.

Here are just a few of their tweets:

Taylor finished the game 16-of-30 for 208 yards and zero touchdowns. Yup, big ol’ goose egg. However, the Chargers’ defense played exceptionally well, helping the Bolts narrowly defeat the Bengals, 16-13.

Now, while I think Herbert could benefit from some time learning before he jumps in as QB1, Herbie might be playing sooner than fans anticipated if Taylor’s Week 2 performance closely resembles his debut. While this is an exciting prospect, some analysts don’t expect to see Herbert anytime soon.

Fansided writer Jason Reed didn’t think Taylor was in jeopardy of losing his starting gig, at least not yet:

“The LA Chargers have committed to Tyrod Taylor as the starting quarterback and it is going to take quite a bit for him to lose the job. I think this is what the coaching staff expected and it is going to take much worse play out of this from Tyrod to lose that starting job.”

Maybe so. But what if things get worse? Like way worse. And if the Chargers get desperate and play Herbert this year, is that a good thing? Is it too soon? While I’m excited to see any former Duck play on Sundays, I also want Herbert to have a long, successful career in the NFL. What’s more effective: Baptism by fire or rookie understudy?

Jordan P. Ingram
San Diego, California
Top Photo from Twitter

Andrew Mueller, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in higher education in Chicago, Illinois.

 

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