Injured Friesz is Getting Ready to Battle for Quarterback Job

When the Chargers acquired quarterback Stan Humphries in August, they made it clear that the future of the team still rested with quarterback John Friesz, who was lost for the season with a knee injury.

Now that Humphries has established himself as a National Football League starting quarterback, however, what happens?

“It’s going to be interesting to see what transpires next year when John gets back,” cornerback Gill Byrd said.

Friesz underwent knee surgery in August, and he said Thursday he anticipates being ready for practice Jan. 1.

“I’m happy for Stan; he’s playing good solid football,” Friesz said. “I think part of the reason Stan is doing much better as of late than early on is because he’s more comfortable and everybody around him is playing much better.

“The receivers are catching all the passes, the line is playing better than they did the first few weeks, and I think it’s another case of early on a quarterback getting too much blame, and maybe a lot of times a quarterback gets too much credit.”

Friesz, who was 4-13 as a starter before being hurt, ran for 10 minutes on a treadmill earlier this week and his knee responded favorably.

“I understand there will be competition for the job next year,” Friesz said. “It will be wide open. I don’t think anybody will have a lock on it. I think it will only be a good situation for the team. We’ll have quarterbacks that have gone through a full season, and whichever wins, I think the other one will be able to handle it and remain supportive.”

Humphries said, “I can’t expect to walk into camp and expect the job to be mine. This has been a wonderful opportunity for me, and you don’t get many opportunities like this. I have to make the most of it.”