COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Cardale Jones' debut with the Los Angeles Chargers last week against the Seattle Seahawks wasn't a statistically impressive performance.
The Ohio State product finished 2-of-9 for 50 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He did lead the Chargers to a Josh Lambo 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half. But the 24-year-old quarterback still has a lot to learn.
"There were some things he's got to do better -- some things that he's got to see quicker and react quicker," Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "There was a ball late in the game where we had a receiver on a quick slant and he took too many steps and was late getting the ball there, and it was almost picked.
"Those are the kind of things that you've got to correct from the tape, and see next time that he's getting better."
One of the things Whisenhunt and the rest of the coaching staff will have to take into consideration when evaluating Jones is the fact he's only been with the organization and learning the offense for a couple weeks. The Chargers made the trade with the Buffalo Bills to acquire Jones' services just before the start of training camp.
Jones is very much still a work in progress.
"It was a great feeling," Jones said told The Mighty 1090 AM Radio about playing last week. "Just being here for these brief, 2 1/2 weeks now, I was just like, 'Hey, let me go out here and show you guys what I've been working on, and show you what I've learned in these brief, 2 1/2 weeks.'
"But definitely it's still a learning process, and I'm growing not just within the team, but within the offense."
The Chargers know Jones has a lot to learn. But what they like is his physical skill set -- the fact that at 6-5 and 250 pounds, Jones has a strong arm, but nice touch throwing the football. And he also brings athleticism, running a 4.81-second 40-yard time and posting a 36-inch vertical jump at the NFL scouting combine a year ago.
Even though he turned the ball over three times last week, Kellen Clemens remains solidly as the No. 2 quarterback on the roster. Jones and Mike Bercovici will continue to provide Clemens competition in training camp, and the Chargers are still taking a long-term approach with Jones.
"Where I was pleased with him, one of the things that you're concerned from a young quarterback is when they do it over the headset in the game, being able to call the play, get everybody in the right spot and run the offense, and he did a pretty good job with that," Whisenhunt said. "As far of his actual mechanics of handling the game, some of the reads and some of the throws, he's got to get better at. But it was his first game. You expect to see growth in that as he progresses."