Jim Harbaugh walked into the press room after the Chargers’ preseason finale with the same mix of bluntness and intrigue he’s carried all summer. His team had just wrapped a four-game August run that felt less about the win-loss record and more about identity. A 34–7 romp over Detroit in Canton, a solid win over the Saints at home, and then two tight losses in L.A. and Santa Clara. The Chargers finished 2–2, but the scoreboard wasn’t what Harbaugh wanted to talk about.

His postgame words about Trey Lance landed like a carefully thrown dart, pointed, but not quite hitting the bullseye. “I don’t want to make any proclamations here tonight,” he told reporters, via Josh Dubow of the AP. “He’s put himself in a really good position.” That’s Harbaugh in pure form, praise wrapped in caution, a message that’s as much for the locker room as it is for the media.

The subtext? Lance has worked his way into the conversation. He wasn’t brought in to simply be a camp arm. Over four preseason games, he showed enough poise and playmaking to be more than just a long-shot depth piece. And when Justin Herbert was benched in the loss to San Francisco, the dynamic shifted. Harbaugh didn’t just give Lance reps; he gave him a stage.

Now the Chargers leave August with a 2–2 preseason record, but the more meaningful number might be one, the number of quarterback jobs Harbaugh has quietly turned into a competition. Herbert remains QB1, no debate. But the backup role? That’s Lance’s to lose. And if Harbaugh’s history tells us anything, it’s that he thrives when his quarterbacks feel a little uncomfortable.

However, the franchise has finalized most things.

Trey Lance almost becomes QB2 for Jim Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh had already made the plan clear earlier in the week. Justin Herbert would sit, Trey Lance would get the first couple of series, Taylor Heinicke would follow, and undrafted rookie DJ Uiagalelei would close things out. It wasn’t just a rotation, it was a test. The backup quarterback job behind Herbert was still undecided, and the finale against the San Francisco 49ers was Lance’s shot to grab it.

“Just trying to build on it, build on what we’ve done these first three and come out with the win,” Lance said before the game. Instead, his long-awaited Bay Area return, the stadium where he once carried the weight of being the 49ers’ future, delivered three straight punts. He finished 5-of-8 for 38 yards. No turnovers, no disaster, but no spark either. A night that summed up his preseason, encouraging glimpses, steady execution, but not quite enough to seal the deal.

The Chargers went on to lose 30–23, undone late by a pick-six, and for Lance, the night ended with more questions than answers. “It was fun,” he said after. “I wish we could have got more going on offense and come out with a win. But it was fun. I tried to approach it like any other game.”

And Jim Harbaugh? He didn’t hand out depth chart titles, but his words told you plenty about how he views Lance. The HC said, “Just 25 years old. Just in life, that’s the fat part of the bat. For a quarterback that’s the fat part of the bat. I like the skill set, an electric player.” That’s not coach-speak dismissal. It’s admiration. That’s a coach hinting that this is only the beginning.

Because whatever they expected, Lance has quietly done it. Stay upright, stay composed, stay in the fight. Across three games, he showed enough to make you remember the tools that once made him a top-three pick. He didn’t clinch the job, but he made it hard to look away. Saturday night didn’t rewrite Trey Lance’s story. But it did keep the door cracked open. He’s not QB2 yet. For now, he waits. And Harbaugh watches.