If you're a Los Angeles Chargers fan hoping the team might replace longtime starting quarterback Philip Rivers with an equally big name like Tom Brady or a promising prospect like Justin Herbert, well, you might want to hold your horses.

Making his first public comments since the Chargers announced they would not retain Rivers in 2020, coach Anthony Lynn suggested that Tyrod Taylor, Rivers' backup this past season, could actually be the one to take over under center.

"Tyrod Taylor is a heck of a quarterback," Lynn told AM 570 LA Sports, per ESPN. "We couldn't have a better backup right now, and now he has an opportunity to maybe step up into a starting role. I've had Tyrod before (in Buffalo), and I know what this young man brings to the table, in the passing game and the running game. One of the things he does very well is take care of the football. I believe every year he's started in this league he's been the No. 1 quarterback in taking care of the football. I believe more games are lost than won. So if we can just take care of the football ... we'll be OK."

It's hard to tell whether Lynn is hyping up Taylor's skill set as much as he's taking a subtle parting shot at Rivers, who threw just three more touchdowns than interceptions in 2019. Either way, it doesn't sound as if he's ruling out Taylor, a former starter with the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns, opening the 2020 season as Los Angeles' signal-caller.

Taylor, 30, appeared in eight games and threw just six passes in 2019, his first year with the Chargers. He has three full seasons of starting experience under his belt, went to the Pro Bowl in 2015 after throwing 20 TD passes and just six picks, started the Bills' wild-card playoff game two years later and has never thrown more than six interceptions in a season. A Baltimore Ravens backup for the first four years of his career, he's also never eclipsed the 20-TD mark, has seen his passing yardage drop for five straight years and was benched in both 2017 and 2018 -- first for Nathan Peterman in Buffalo, then for Baker Mayfield in Cleveland.

Taylor is under contract with L.A. through the 2020 season and is set to earn $7.5 million this year.