Neither Trey Lance, nor former Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, has separated from the other in the competition for the Los Angeles Chargers’ backup quarterback job.

Following Los Angeles’ 41-17 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh stated that the backup quarterback battle between Uiagalelei and Lance is “tight.”

Harbaugh hasn’t yet decided on the QB2 role behind Justin Herbert.

“I think it’s tight. I don’t have a definitive status on it right now,” Harbaugh told reporters.

In Thursday’s preseason contest, Uiagalelei completed seven of his 15 passing attempts for 80 yards, and connected on a late 28-yard touchdown pass to Jerand Bradley. Lance went 10-of-16 passing for 73 yards and displayed his athleticism with a 37-yard run. Neither signal-caller committed a turnover.

Harbaugh added that it’s challenging to properly assess the quarterbacks due to overall offensive execution issues and procedural errors happening around them.

“Some good. Some of the better plays were called back for illegal formation or two guys in motion at times. Just sloppy pre-snap, post-snap,” Harbaugh said. “Kind of hard to evaluate the quarterbacks when that kind of errors are taking place.”

Uiagalelei spent three years at Clemson from 2020-22 before transferring to play at Oregon State in 2023. The former five-star prospect from California then transferred to Florida State for his final college campaign in 2024.

After going unselected in the 2025 NFL Draft, Uiagalelei signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Chargers in April 2025.

Uiagalelei was waived in late August of last year as part of final roster cuts, but re-signed with the Chargers’ practice squad the next day. Then, this past January, he signed a reserve/future contract with the team.

In June, ESPN named Uiagalelei as the biggest surprise player for the Chargers this offseason, or one of the “under-the-radar players who turned heads this spring while battling for starting spots or depth roles.”

“With Justin Herbert throwing little this offseason while focusing on footwork and mechanics, Uiagalelei has taken advantage of his reps,” ESPN’s Kris Rhim wrote.

“The former undrafted free agent has been one of the Chargers’ most impressive players, thriving on intermediate and deep throws. If that carries into training camp, Uiagalelei could challenge Trey Lance for the backup job.”

Uiagalelei did not appear in any games for the Chargers last season. He spent the entirety of his rookie campaign on the Chargers’ practice squad and was elevated to the active roster for the team’s Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos to back up Lance, but Uiagalelei didn’t get into the contest.

Uiagalelei completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 5,681 yards with 36 touchdowns and 17 interceptions over 36 games (28 starts) for the Tigers from 2020-22, while also rushing for 913 yards and 15 touchdowns on 275 career carries. He went 22-6 as a starter for the Tigers, but ultimately lost the starting QB job to Cade Klubnik during the 2022 ACC Championship Game before transferring to Oregon State.

For Oregon State in 2023, Uiagalelei completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions across 12 games. For FSU the following season, he completed 53.8 percent of his passes for 1,065 yards and four touchdowns with six interceptions in five games before missing the remainder of the season due to a broken finger on his throwing hand.

In his five-year college career, the 6-foot-4, 252-pounder posted a 58.5 completion percentage and 9,384 passing yards with 61 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,124 yards and 21 scores on 380 career carries.