After news that LA Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert had a foot injury that would sideline him for at least two weeks, the team signed a backup quarterback. And it’s none other than Luis Perez, a product of Chula Vista who is extremely STOKED to get this opportunity.

Perez was starting quarterback for the Arlington Renegades in the United Football League when he was signed to a one-year contract with the Chargers. (The UFL is the spring football league, essentially the minor leagues for the NFL.)

During the 2024 season, he led the UFL in completions (225), passing yards (2,309) and passing touchdowns (18). Perez has previously been on the rosters of the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. Perez, who will turn 31 on Aug. 26, will be assigned No. 11 for the Los Angeles Chargers.

To manage expectations, there’s no guarantee Perez will see any QB time in the 2024 season, but at least he has the chance to compete for a position on the Chargers’ roster. And it’s certainly possible that Herbert’s injury, a plantar fascia injury in his right foot, could take longer than two weeks to heal. The team has said it expects Herbert to start the season as QB.

Perez’ pathway to becoming an NFL quarterback was anything but linear, and that’s one of the things that makes it such a good story. While he started playing quarterback at a young age, he actually considered pursuing bowling professionally; in fact, he was so good that the Otay Mesa High School student had scholarship offers for bowling. However, fate intervened and he eventually returned to football, a career that officially began when he walked on to the Southwestern College football team in Chula Vista. This was his first experience (2013-14) playing football at a competitive level, as he hadn’t played on a high school varsity team.

According to his Wikipedia page, after playing at the junior college level, he transferred to Texas A&M-Commerce from 2015 to 2017 where he was a standout quarterback for the Lions, setting team records in completions (665), passing touchdowns (78) and passing yards (8,325), for which he was awarded the 2017 Harlon Hill Division II Player of the Year; the following year, he led the Lions to an NCAA Division II National Championship and was made a first-team All-America selection.

Luis Perez’s family includes his parents, Juan and Carla Perez, and his brothers. His father was a professional soccer player in Mexico.