The Athletic reports live on Chargers vs. Raiders on Thursday Night Football
The last time Easton Stick started a non-exhibition football game was on January 5, 2019.
That afternoon in Frisco, Texas, Stick led North Dakota State to its second straight FCS national championship. The Bison defeated Eastern Washington 38-24. Stick, then 23, had five touchdowns. He threw for 198 yards and added 121 on the ground.
Stick is now 28. He is in his fifth NFL season. To be precise, 1,804 days have passed since Stick last started a meaningful football game. Almost five years of waiting and working, working and waiting until his chance came. The Los Angeles Chargers drafted Stick in the fifth round in 2019. He sat below Philip Rivers and Tyrod Taylor as well as Justin Herbert and Chase Daniel. Just this year, he became the Chargers' No. 2 quarterback. A college star pushed into the background due to circumstances.
On Thursday night, Stick plays against the Las Vegas Raiders and will start the NFL regular season for the first time in his career.
“When they picked me five years ago, that’s what you want as a kid,” Stick said this week. “An opportunity to play.”
The Chargers' season has reached its lowest point. They have virtually no chance of making the playoffs. Herbert broke his right index finger and underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday.
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For Stick, however, the rest of this season will be crucial to his career. He has four games to show the league what he is capable of as a quarterback at this level. If he plays well, he could earn a chance to compete for a starting job elsewhere in 2024. At least he could earn significantly more money.
Worked behind the scenes for four games for five years.
“He works so hard on his game in the offseason to get where he wants to be,” said Shane Day, who spent two seasons as Sticks quarterbacks coach with the Chargers in 2021-22. “Not being able to use those skills in a real game destroys him as a competitor. We all know that Easton is the ultimate competitor and he hasn't been able to play a meaningful role in (five) years.
“To actually go out and play quarterback and show all the things he’s working on, that means everything to him.”
Stick has had to push himself mentally and physically to get to this point in his career. As a rookie, he was inactive in all 16 games. He played just two offensive snaps in 2020 and was inactive for nine of 16 games. He was inactive for 16 of 17 games in 2021 and 2022.
Stick won 49 games in college. When he joined the pros, his game day experience mostly consisted of changing into street clothes and wearing a headset. On most Sundays, Stick's pregame practices were as close to game time as possible.
For the past five years, preseason games and pregame warmups have formed the bulk of Easton Stick's work. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)
He played in the preseason, although there were bumps along the way. The 2020 preseason was canceled due to COVID-19. Stick attempted just one in-game pass over two years, from 2019 to 2021, preseason and regular season combined. He played in training camp and practice. In 2019, he even worked with the defense in safety practice as the Chargers struggled with injuries at the position. This year, Stick led the scout team's offense, which attempts to resemble the opponent during practice week.
Stick still found ways to contribute, and not just in the film room with Herbert. Day recalled having regular courtside conversations with Stick during games in 2021 and 2022. After a series, Day went through film clips with Herbert. Day then chatted with Stick, who often had suggestions.
“Hey, don’t forget this play,” Stick would say.
“Hey, remember that play we talked about on Wednesday?” Stick would say.
Day said he would relay Stick's recommendations to offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who called plays from the booth.
“The conversations and collaboration about what the defense did in the game and remembering the game plan and the support I had as a coach in executing it,” Day said.
And yet, between preseason and training, Stick had limited opportunities to develop his game. He had to organize his own time.
Most quarterbacks take a break from throwing in January and February after the season to recover. Don't stick. He immediately returned to the Chargers' facility and began working outside.
His main goal was to improve his arm strength. Stick admitted this week that he was “probably a little behind” in that area when he came into the league.
“I didn’t grow up with a quarterback coach,” Stick said. “At North Dakota State we played a lot of football. We were involved in the quarterback run game. … I put in a lot of work.”
This work came during the offseason when virtually everyone else was away from football. Instead, Stick dug deeper.
He worked on his mechanics. He practiced his movements over and over again to generate more power in the delivery and improve his accuracy.
“He’s a sneaker,” coach Brandon Staley said.
His arm strength has improved dramatically as a result, which he put on full display in the second half on Sunday when he connected with rookie receiver Quentin Johnston for a 57-yard completion.
Stick maintained that work ethic throughout the season. According to Day, Stick stayed on the field after practice to do extra work with some backup receivers and tight ends and made every single throw Herbert made in practice.
“He worked really hard to make sure he was ready when his opportunity came,” Day said.
Stick was always a smart player. That was one of the main reasons he was drafted in 2019.
“His film study and all that stuff is top notch, as good as I’ve ever seen,” said Day, who is now a senior offensive assistant with the Houston Texans and coaches rookie quarterback CJ Stroud.
Stick has even evolved this part of his game. He could always serve pre-snap. During his two seasons in LA, Day saw Stick develop his ability to read and react post-snaps, an important part of quarterback play in the league. And that has continued this season.
“After the snap, he can see the field, which is important,” Staley said this week. “A lot of people can see the play before the snap, but how do you play once the ball is snapped? He has good instincts.”
Easton Stick's athleticism is one of his calling cards that earned him a chance in the NFL. (Robert Hanashiro/USA Today)
Stick has combined that arm strength and finishing development with the traits that made him a draft pick in 2019, most notably his athleticism and ability to create off-schedule plays as a runner and thrower.
“As far as mental and physical response, he was able to do both things at the same time,” Day said.
Stick will finally have a chance to assess how far he's come, through 1,804 days of work and development, hours after practice and on the field in January when everyone else was on vacation.
Of sweat and determination and time invisible to those on the outside.
“This is what he loves,” Day said. “He loves to compete.”
His moment has come.
“I know I’ve improved,” Stick said. “I think this is it. I know it out here. We spend a lot of time out here. Obviously it's different. You go out there and it counts. It is important. It means a lot to a lot of people. That’s why I’m looking forward to it.”
(Top photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
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