The Philip Rivers era with the Chargers is over as Los Angeles has announced they've moved on from the quarterback, who has been under center as their starter for the past 16 seasons. Rivers will now jump into free agency and look for a new NFL home as his former club searches for his successor. For the latest on Rivers' top landing spots, updates on his free agency, and more, you can head here.

For now, we'll turn the page and look at L.A.'s options at quarterback -- they can really cast a wide search. They just so happen to be entering an offseason where they're in need of a quarterback and quarterback movement is poised to be at an all-time high. In that spirit, we're diving down into a bunch of rabbit holes that the Chargers could check in on as they look for a new quarterback and rank them from least likely to most likely. Of course, the pursuit of soon-to-be free agent Tom Brady will be high on this list, but there are plenty of trade possibilities, other free agents, and draft prospects worth keeping an eye on as they ultimately come to a decision on QB1. 

Below you'll see a snapshot of the potential madness that could develop to spark up this new dawn of Chargers football: 

7. Splash trade: Cam Newton 

This was a theory that Senior NFL writer Will Brinson brought up in the latest Pick Six Podcast's "AFC Burning Questions, Mailbag" episode, and it got the wheels spinning in my head. In this hypothetical scenario, the Chargers would ship the No. 6 pick to the Panthers for Newton and the No. 7 overall selection (with other assets possibly involved) at the 2020 NFL Draft in Vegas. Spicy!

Of course, we all agree that it's rather unlikely this actually happens, but it'd certainly check a lot of boxes that Los Angeles is reportedly looking for in their next quarterback. Newton is mobile, a former league MVP, still relatively young at age 30 and, while he isn't Tom Brady, he'd bring some enough star power to L.A. that should help sell tickets for their new stadium. The Panthers seems to be starting anew with first-year head coach Matt Rhule and have already seen the likes of Luke Kuechly and Greg Olsen depart the franchise. It wouldn't be too surprising if Newton was the next one out the door. The question for Los Angeles in this, however, would center around Newton's health. If they don't feel good about that, it's a non-starter. 

Either way, this is a fun scenario to think about. 

6. Roll the dice: Jameis Winston

Because of his stature as a former No. 1 overall pick, Jameis Winston could garner some buzz around the fanbase if the Chargers were to sign him in free agency. His current team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are rumored to be pursuing Philip Rivers, so this could be a neat free agent swap. 

Winston does have talent, but his gunslinger mentality also leads to a lot of turnovers as we saw last season. Despite leading the league with 5,109 yards passing, Winston also threw a league-high 30 interceptions in 2019.  In a way, his play was similar to Rivers, which may not be that endearing to head coach Anthony Lynn and co. as they just cut ties with their longtime franchise QB over similar concerns. His price tag may also be something that could make the Chargers steer clear. 

That said, if they feel like they can take Winston (and his new set of eyes) and unlock his potential, they'd be getting a still young quarterback as he'll be just 26 to start the 2020 season. 

5. Buy low: Nick Foles

Out of the possible trade options, kicking the tires on Nick Foles is a rather intriguing option for Los Angeles. After suffering a broken clavicle in the opener against Kansas City in his Jaguars debut, Foles was sidelined until Week 11, which gave rookie Gardner Minshew the chance to break out. He not only played at an efficient level, but he also took ahold of the fanbase and developed a cult following. By all accounts, it looks like it's his job to lose in 2020. 

With that QB decision currently looming over Jacksonville, the Chargers could look to acquire Foles at a relatively cheap price considering his contract situation. He has a $22.1 million cap hit for 2020, which could be absorbed by Los Angeles, who has a projected $51.7 million in cap space. If this experiment doesn't work out, the Chargers would also then have an out in Foles' contract after next season so it could be a flier worth taking. After all, Foles has proven that he's capable of winning a Super Bowl and the Chargers do have enough weapons to contend with offensively as long as they keep tight end Hunter Henry. 

4. Sneaky free agent flier: Marcus Mariota 

If the dust settles on the 2020 offseason and the Chargers have Marcus Mariota on the roster, I would consider that a win. I'm not sure he has the cachet to have fans rushing to sign up for season tickets, but I do like the fit. The Chargers are reportedly looking for a more mobile-type quarterback and, while Mariota isn't the next Lamar Jackson, he can extend plays and move the chains with his feet when need be. 

The 2019 season didn't go well for Mariota in Tennessee as he lost the starting job to Ryan Tannehill, who then took the Titans to the AFC Championship. As the former No. 2 pick looks for a new opportunity, Los Angeles may be a nice place to hit the reset button. He could come in, compete with the likes of Tyrod Taylor and try to tap back into his potential. The 2019 season aside, Mariota is a pretty accurate quarterback (68.9 completion percentage in 2018) and does keep turnovers to a minimum -- relatively speaking. He also has nine fourth-quarter comebacks and eleven game-winning drives to his name over the course of his career. With weapons like Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry, Austin Ekeler and possibly Melvin Gordon, Mariota could have a nice resurgence as a Charger. 

And if L.A. starts to win with Mariota, fans will eventually start to show up. 

3. NFL Draft: Justin Herbert

The Chargers have plenty of needs (specifically across the offensive line), but it really doesn't matter if you can protect the quarterback if you don't have one, right? As they figure out what to do with the No. 6 overall pick, there's always the option that Los Angeles addresses the quarterback position, and with Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa likely off the board, that brings Oregon's Justin Herbert into the limelight. 

Herbert has all the physical attributes of a franchise quarterback and is coming off a strong Senior Bowl performance where he earned MVP honors. As CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson explains, however, Herbert needs to work on his consistency and, as the quarterback himself also admitted, leadership, which may not make him a Day 1 starter in the NFL. Despite Herbert being a raw talent, his presence would certainly generate a ton of fan interest about the franchise's future in a similar fashion to what their SoFi Stadium roommate in the Los Angeles Rams did with former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff. Just like Goff before him, Herbert played college football in the Pac-12.

Going down this avenue would certainly make a lot of sense for a franchise looking to rebrand itself. Having Herbert on a rookie contract would also free up a ton of cap space to build up the talent around him going forward.  

2. Big free agent fish GOAT: Tom Brady

Of course, this is THE rumor flying around the NFL currently. If Tom Brady doesn't elect to finish out his career with the New England Patriots, many are pointing to the Los Angeles Chargers to be the most likely destination. They have the money to bring him in, enough weapons on offense where he can put up points, along with a defense that has playmakers like Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram. 

That's certainly one heck of a pitch.

From the business side: A Brady-Chargers marriage would also help both parties. For Los Angeles, they'd be getting all the fanfare of bringing in the greatest quarterback in NFL history and would likely be a legit threat in the AFC for at least the next two seasons. As for the Brady camp, not only would he be able to continue to contend for titles, but he'd also expose his TB12 brand to the major market of Los Angeles, which shouldn't go unnoticed. 

Brady himself has also fueled these rumors by "liking" a post from the NFL's official Instagram account that announced the Philip Rivers release. Take of this what you will. 

Hmmmmmm.  

As CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has reported, the Chargers have long had their eye on wooing Brady to La-La-Land and if you're the six-time Super Bowl champion, it's worth listening to what they have to offer. 

1. Staying in-house: Tyrod Taylor

Call it posturing, call it honesty, call it whatever you want, but Chargers general manager Tom Telesco did recently open up about the franchise's view of the quarterback position post-Rivers. During an interview with AM570 LA Sports, Telesco did say that he likes the club's "internal options" at quarterback. That would point to veteran Tyrod Taylor having the inside track at the starting job for Week 1 in 2020.  

Having Taylor in as the starter would make some sense. He was in the Anthony Lynn system for all of the 2019 season, so he'd theoretically have a leg up on any other quarterback that comes into the franchise, and he fits that mobile-style quarterback mold that the Chargers are reportedly looking for in their next starter. 

Given Telesco's comments and Taylor already being on the roster, you'd have to consider this the most likely option for Los Angeles in 2020. That said, I do like the idea of possibly still drafting Herbert at No. 6 and having him sit a year behind Taylor and the learn the system. That could be the most ideal situation for Los Angeles for the present and future.