Justin Herbert is stepping outside his comfort zone — and breaking from the norm — this preseason. The Los Angeles Chargers quarterback will take the field Saturday against the Rams, marking his first preseason action since entering the NFL in 2020. But this wasn’t a coaching decision. It was Herbert’s call.
“It was actually me going to him and saying, ‘Hey, would it be OK if I went in and played?’” Herbert said via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “In years past, the plan was to rest. But I wanted to go out there and feel the pass rush because in practice, as a quarterback, you don’t always get the true feeling of the pass rush.”
Justin Herbert Requested To Play Behind Chargers’ Reshuffled Offensive Line
The original plan had Herbert debuting last weekend against the Saints, but a season-ending knee injury to left tackle Rashawn Slater forced the Chargers to reshuffle the offensive line. Combined with caution from the coaching staff, Herbert’s appearance was delayed.
“We had to adjust and worked toward this being the week to play,” Herbert explained.
Since being drafted sixth overall in 2020, Herbert’s August workload has been virtually non-existent. The pandemic erased his rookie preseason, and from 2021 to 2023, he stayed on the sideline — most recently due to a plantar fascia injury in his right foot. Now fully healthy, Herbert sees preseason snaps as valuable preparation.
“I just thought it was something that can help,” he said. “I thought this was something that could be good for me and good for the team.”
Head coach Jim Harbaugh agreed to the plan, confirming Herbert will get a handful of plays before backups Taylor Heinicke and Trey Lance take over. The decision, while uncommon for a franchise quarterback, reflects the trust between Harbaugh and Herbert — a relationship insiders have described as a “bromance” since Harbaugh’s arrival in 2024.
Herbert enters 2025 coming off a career-high 101.7 passer rating, with 3,870 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just three interceptions last season. The Chargers finished 11-6 before a Wild Card loss to the Texans, and Harbaugh has openly challenged the rest of the roster to match Herbert’s standard, even suggesting the quarterback has the tools to be one of the all-time greats.
The Rams matchup will be the teams’ only meeting this summer after a planned joint practice was scrapped earlier in the week. For Herbert, it’s a rare August opportunity to feel game speed before Week 1 — a calculated break from tradition that he believes will sharpen his edge when the games start to count.
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