On August 13, 1992 the San Diego Chargers, in need of help at quarterback, obtained QB Stan Humphries from the Washington Redskins for a conditional 1993 draft choice. The condition was that, if Humphries took at least half the snaps during the ‘92 season, Washington would get a choice in the third round, as opposed to a fourth-round pick (It ended up being a third-round selection used to take Ed Bunn, a punter out of Texas-El Paso, who failed to make the club).
The 27-year-old Humphries had starred in college at
Northeast Louisiana, which won the Division I-AA national championship with him
behind center. The Redskins chose him in the sixth round of the 1988 NFL draft
and, while impressed with his size (6’2”, 223) and arm, he was stuck as a
backup behind Mark Rypien. The failure of the pudgy quarterback to commit to
offseason conditioning soured Head Coach Joe Gibbs on him and it didn’t help
when he got a chance to start in place of the injured Rypien for five games in
1990 and was highly inconsistent. He saw no action at all during the 1991
season that culminated in a NFL Championship. Rypien, who was outstanding
during the title campaign, was a training camp holdout but signed just prior to
Humphries being traded.
San Diego had gone 10-22 in the previous two years,
including 4-12 in 1991, and Bobby Ross was replacing Dan Henning as head coach.
QB John Friesz showed some promise, but suffered a knee injury in the first
preseason game that required surgery, and backups Bob Gagliano and Jeff Graham
were mediocre. Ex-Washington GM Bobby Beathard was now the general manager of
the Chargers and swung the deal for Humphries.
Humphries took over the starting job and, after a slow
start, performed well. Adept at play-action and an able down-field passer with
a quick release, which made up for a lack of mobility, he supplemented his
physical abilities with strong leadership and toughness. The Chargers lost
their first four games, but went 11-1 the rest of the way to improve to 11-5,
winning the AFC West and advancing into the playoffs. They made it to the
Divisional round with Humphries remaining behind center despite playing with a
shoulder separation. Overall, Humphries passed for 3356 yards with 16
touchdowns and 18 interceptions, although eight of the pickoffs came in those
first four losing games.
Humphries got off to a rough start in 1993 due to a
shoulder injury during the preseason that affected his throwing ability and he
lost his starting job to Friesz for six games at midseason. Four of those games
were losses, however, and Humphries returned to the starting lineup. The team
went 4-2, on the way to an 8-8 finish, with Humphries back behind center, and
in one of the losses he was knocked out of the game due to a concussion.
Overall, he passed for 1981 yards and 12 TDs against 10 interceptions, with 520
of those yards and five touchdowns coming in the final two contests.
The stage was set for Humphries and San Diego to rebound
in 1994. The Chargers won their first six games on the way to topping the
division with an 11-5 record. Humphries suffered hip, knee, ankle, thumb, and
(non-throwing) elbow injuries along the way, but missed only one game while
also showing greater savvy as a quarterback and guiding the club to six fourth
quarter game-winning drives. He threw for 3209 yards while completing 58.3
percent of his passes, with 17 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for a
career-high passer rating of 81.6 and again provided effective leadership.
In the postseason, the team won two games, including an
upset of the Steelers in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship, although the Chargers
foundered in the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers. Still, it was San
Diego’s first Super Bowl appearance and a career-year for the stocky
quarterback.
Humphries remained with the Chargers for another three seasons,
with diminishing returns. While he passed for a career-high 3381 yards and
another 17 TDs, the training camp holdout of star RB Natrone Means damaged the
offense, as well as team morale, and while San Diego again reached the
playoffs, it was as a Wild Card entry with a lesser 9-7 tally. The Chargers
were eliminated in the first round.
San Diego slipped further to 8-8 in 1996 and injuries
became more of a factor for Humphries, who missed three games although he also
achieved a career high with 18 touchdown passes. He lasted just eight more
games in ’97, and retired after suffering several concussions.
Overall with the Chargers, Humphries completed 56.8
percent of his passes for 16,085 yards and 85 TDs, totals only excelled up to that
time in franchise history by Dan Fouts and John Hadl, while giving up 73
interceptions. The team went 47-29 during his starts, plus 3-3 in the
postseason.
