Brandon Staley speaks on decision to bench Quentin Johnston vs. Ravens

Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Ravens, Quentin Johnston was targeted on a 2nd and 12 that resulted in a dropped pass. Johnston went down after the play, shaken up as he was grabbing his ribs. He did not return to play at any point in the rest of the game.

Brandon Staley was asked at his postgame press conference about Johnston’s injury and availability to return to the game. Staley first said he had an “issue” with his ribs and did not return to the game. “It just did not happen. He did not go back into the game.”

Further pressed on the matter by The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, Staley revealed that Johnston not coming back in was a coaching staff decision as opposed to a medical designation.

“It wasn’t that he couldn’t go back into the game, it’s just that we didn’t feel like — through the flow of the game, with where he was — that it was the right thing to go back into the game,” Staley said.

The Chargers felt their best chance to win was with their first-round pick on the sideline. Los Angeles’ offense ostensibly chose practice squad elevation Alex Erickson to finish out the game over the former TCU star.

While it was clear that Johnston was shaken up on the hit, the Chargers notably never released an injury designation for him via the broadcast or social media.

For Johnston, six games are left to make a true impact this season to get some positive momentum into his sophomore campaign. For Staley, there are currently six games left to ensure another campaign.