Chargers GM: No 'Blueprint' for Justin Herbert Contract After Hurts, Jackson Deals

Justin Herbert has two seasons remaining on his contract, and it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest the new deals Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts signed this offseason could be something of a blueprint in his negotiations.

But Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco doesn't necessarily see it that way.

Telesco discussed Herbert's contract situation during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk) and said there is no blueprint even though he believes something will be done in the future:

"Any time there is a contract signed at that position, yeah, it's going to come up in conversation. I wouldn't say there is any quarterback contract out there that is a blueprint. I wouldn't say that at all. But, like anything else, there'll be contracts that'll be talked about. We'll cherry-pick some things out of that contract we like. The agent will cherry-pick some things out of that contract that he likes. In the end, we'll get to a compromise at some point, something that works for everybody. That's what we'll do here. I don't really have a timeframe for it, to be honest with you, but we'll get there."

Hurts became the highest-paid player in the league in average annual value when he agreed to a five-year, $255 million deal that included $179.3 million guaranteed.

However, his status atop the paid charts lasted all of 10 days, as Jackson agreed to a five-year, $260 million contract extension that featured $185 million guaranteed.

It followed that Jackson's came in a bit higher than Hurts' because that is typically how these discussions unfold. Whoever is the most recent marquee quarterback to sign a deal usually becomes the highest-paid one at that time.

That's why someone like Patrick Mahomes can be the seventh-highest-paid quarterback in AAV entering the 2023 season, even if he is widely considered the best in the league after he won another championship.

Herbert will surely be the highest-paid quarterback in the league when he does sign an extension if he continues on his current trajectory.

The 25-year-old was the 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year and a 2021 Pro Bowler in his first two seasons. He completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 4,739 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last year and has now thrown for more than 4,300 yards in each of his first three seasons in the league.

There will surely be a lucrative contract waiting for him in the future, but Telesco doesn't appear too concerned with the ones Hurts and Jackson just signed.