Chargers Officially Pick Up QB Justin Herbert’s Fifth-Year Option

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Chargers officially picked up QB Justin Herbert’s fifth-year option on Friday. 

The option is projected to cost the Chargers $29,504,000 fully guaranteed for the 2024 season, but won’t prevent them from negotiating a long-term deal.

Herbert said at the team’s draft party that there’s no timeline for the two parties to get a long-term extension in place. 

“That’s always part of the process of just being out there and looking around [at] what happens,” Herbert said, via ESPN.com. “I’m just worried about playing football and doing my best to rehab my shoulder.”

Herbert added that he hasn’t been involved in contract negotiations up to this point. 

“I’m kind of left out of those negotiations, and I think my job now, my focus is to be the best quarterback that I can be and to rehab my shoulder,” said Herbert. “I’ve got complete faith in the Chargers organization and the front office. They’ve done such a great job of taking care of us as players, and I’ve loved to be a part of this team, being a part of this organization, and it’s kind of beyond my control of as to what happens now. I’m just doing everything I can that I can control.”

Herbert, 24, was taken with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft by the Chargers. He signed a four-year, $26,578,754 rookie contract that includes a $16,890,003 signing bonus and earned a base salary of $3,026,250 this season. 

The contract includes a fifth-year option for the Chargers to pick up for the 2024 season.

In 2022, Herbert appeared in 17 games for the Chargers, completing 68.2 percent of his passes for 4,739 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.